I had another question I wanted to ask him, but it required some diplomacy if I was wrong about my assumption. I needed to get my new boss out of hearing range. “Kelsey, I’m afraid I’m feeling a bit woozy. Could you get me a glass of water?”
“Of course, Savannah.”
She went back into Brady’s room to get my water, and I stepped close to him and said softly, “While she’s gone, I need to ask you something. Don’t lie to me. Are you having an affair with Cary Duncan?”
Chapter 18
“WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?”
“I saw you yesterday going to her room with a bouquet of flowers, and you were still there when I left the Brunswick later.”
He started laughing, though I failed to see what was so amusing.
“That’s not an answer,” I whispered. “Hurry up, she’s coming back.”
Kelsey came out, handed me the glass of water, and then asked her boyfriend, “Brady? What’s so funny?”
“Savannah thinks I’m having an affair with Cary Duncan,” he said, still clearly amused by my question.
She smiled broadly at me. “Why on earth would you ask him that, Savannah?”
Before I could answer, Brady said, “She saw me going into Cary’s room yesterday with those flowers you picked out.”
“You truly weren’t hitting on her?” I asked.
“No, I was there trying to save Kelsey’s job,” he said. “Cary was having second thoughts about letting Kelsey run things, and I went there to convince her to give Kelsey an honest chance.”
“So, there was no romance,” I said.
“Not with Cary,” he said. “Not in a million years.”
He was still chuckling as I said, “You have to realize what it looked like to me.”
“I suppose so. It’s a pretty funny image, though. Are we finished here now?”
“For the moment,” I said.
After the two of them disappeared back into Brady’s room, Jenny said, “I didn’t see that coming, did you?”
“Not if I’d had a thousand guesses. I wonder if it’s true.”
“What,” Jenny asked, “that they’re dating? They seemed comfortable enough around each other.”
“I didn’t see any sparks though, did you?”
“I’m not sure we would have,” she said. “What should we do next?”
I looked around, and realized that there was one more guest in this hotel who was involved in our case. “Let’s see if Mindi is in her room. She’s in one-nine-one-eight.”
“What are we going to talk to her about?”
“I’m not sure yet, but I will be by the time she comes to the door.”
Jenny laughed. “That’s what I like to see, confidence.”
MINDI WASN’T IN HER ROOM, THOUGH. WE FOUND A housekeeping cart in front of it, and I tapped on the open door as one of the maids came out.
“Excuse me, but do you know if Mindi Mills is still staying here?”
The maid frowned as she said, “There’s nothing here. I got a note to clean this room and that the previous guest had checked out.”
“Any idea when she left?”
She checked her list again, and then said, “Three hours ago. Can I help you with something?”
“No, thanks,” I said. “I’ll catch up with her later.”
We walked back to the elevator, and after I hit the down button, I asked Jenny, “Where do you suppose she went?”
“Back to Richmond?” she asked.
“I guess so, but I thought Murphy asked everyone involved with the case to stay in town.”
“He couldn’t order them to, though, not without more reason than he had. If he let her go, then I guess we’ll have to mark her off our suspect list, too.”
“Are you kidding? I just moved her up near the top. Running away is the worst thing she could have done. It just makes her look guilty.”
“I suppose it could at that,” Jenny said. “What should we do now?”
“Let’s go back to the lobby and collect Zach. I’m dying to tell him what we’ve found out so far.”
THE SECOND WE GOT BACK IN THE LOBBY, I SCANNED THE room for Zach, to no avail. I knew his promise to sit quietly and wait for us had been too good to be true.
“Where’s that husband of yours?” Jenny asked me.
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.” I started to take my cell phone out of my bag when she put a hand on my arm.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Don’t call him.”
“Why not?”
Pointing toward the restaurant, she said, “Because there’s no need to. He’s right there.”
I followed her gesture and saw my husband in deep conversation with Frank Lassiter.
“I thought he was going to stay on the sidelines,” Jenny said.
I smiled. “I’m willing to bet Lassiter came through the lobby, so Zach decided to brace him while he had the chance.”
“Should we join them, then?” Jenny asked.
I looked over at them and saw that my husband appeared to have things in hand. “No, I got tough with Lassiter the last time we questioned him. Zach probably has a better chance of getting something from him on his own. I’ve got another idea about what we can do next.”
I glanced at the desk and saw that there was a man on duty I hadn’t seen before. “I need you to do me a favor,” I said.
“All you have to do is ask.”
“Go to the front desk and ask for Benjamin Lowe.” I didn’t see him anywhere nearby, and if I started by asking for him, it would ruin the rest of my plan to get the information I wanted.
“I’ll be right back.”
In thirty seconds, she was as good as her word. “Benjamin’s not here. He’s gone for the night, and they won’t call him.”
“Then I’ll have to do something myself. Would you mind hanging back here while I talk to the clerk at the front desk?”
“Are you going to ask him about Mindi?”
“Sure, I’ll tack that onto what I had in mind, too.”
“Savannah, what are you up to?”
I shrugged. “I’m trying to get some information.” I pointed to a newspaper rack beside the front desk. “If you want to eavesdrop, there’s the perfect spot. Go ahead; I’ll wait for you to get settled.”
She was clearly confused by what I was about to do, and I didn’t really want to explain it to her. It called for a bold move, and I had to work myself up to do it. It would have made life a lot easier if Benjamin were still there, but I couldn’t wait until morning to ask him what I needed to.
After thirty seconds, I was ready.
I stormed to the front desk and slapped my hand down on the counter. It sounded like a gunshot as it echoed through the lobby, and I noticed a few people look up at the impact.
“I demand an explanation,” I said loudly.
