Casey Mayes - A Killer Column

Once we were in the lobby, Jenny and I each took a suitcase, and Benjamin walked us to the front door. After he was gone, Zach couldn’t wait to open the box, and there was no reason to stop him then.

He flipped it open, found one telephone book after another, and then said, “I’m sure there’s a perfectly good reason the three of us are stealing phone books from a hotel.”

“There is,” I said.

“Would you care to share it with me?”

I just laughed. “It will have to wait until we get to the Brunswick Hotel.”

He shrugged. “Okay, I can stand not knowing that long. I’ll see you both there.”

The next stop was the Brunswick Hotel. I couldn’t wait to get rid of the suitcases filled with Derrick’s clothes. It hadn’t bothered me searching them and packing them up, but for some reason, having them in my car was making me a little skittish.

It’s hard to say what makes most people’s minds work the way they do.

And that goes double for mine.

WHEN WE GOT TO THE BRUNSWICK, I CHECKED AT THE front desk for Cary’s room number. Zach and Jenny had stayed back so Cary wouldn’t feel like we were ganging up on her.

The clerk punched a few numbers into his computer, and then said, “I’m sorry, but Ms. Duncan has left notice that she is not to be disturbed.”

“I understand,” I said, “but she’s expecting me. I have some of her late husband’s things.”

“You must be Ms. Stone,” he said.

I decided to let the Ms. slide this time. “I am.”

He nodded as he tapped a few more keys. “In that case, I have specific instructions for you.”

He smiled slightly as he said, “You are to leave Mr. Duncan’s things with our bag check service, and then return with the receipt and give it to me. She asked me to thank you for your assistance in this most difficult time.”

“Are you serious? That’s it?” I asked.

“I’m afraid it’s out of my hands.” He didn’t look all that upset saying no to me. Some people looked for ways to make things happen, while others delighted in throwing up roadblocks whenever the opportunity availed itself.

I walked back to Jenny and Zach, and my husband hit the up button before I could say anything.

“There’s no reason to take the elevator,” I said.

“Why? I didn’t think there were any guest rooms on the main floor.”

“It appears that Cary has decided not to speak with us again, and there’s not much we can do about it.”

Zach looked surprised by the statement. “What’s going on?”

“She wants us to check these bags, and then give the clerk the claim ticket. It doesn’t look like there’s a chance we’re going to be able to have another face-to-face conversation with her today.”

“We’ll see about that.”

I grabbed my husband’s arm as he started for the front desk. “Zach, you’re not a cop anymore, and you don’t have any standing in this case.”

“We know that,” he said softly, “but I’m guessing this guy doesn’t.”

“It’s okay. We’ll talk to her later.”

“Why wait? You two did her a service, no matter what your motives were, and she could at least have the decency to thank you in person.”

“Jenny? What do you think?” I asked.

“Don’t drag me into this. I’m staying out of it.”

“Come on, you’ve got the tiebreaking vote. What’s it going to be?”

Jenny frowned, and then pointed to a corner of the lobby and said, “Let’s go over there. We can discuss it where no one’s watching us.”

I looked over to see that the clerk was indeed following us with keen interest. We moved to the edge of his sight line, and I said, “Go on. Let’s hear what you’ve got to say.”

“I’ll tell you, but you’re not going to like it.”

Zach crowed. “Excellent. I knew you were the most sensible one around here.”

“Not exactly.”

“You can’t be on both our sides,” I said.

“I’m not. I don’t think you should talk to her, but not for the reason you might think.”

“Go on,” I said. “I’m always willing to listen to what you have to say.”

She took a deep breath, and then said, “Guys, you know I love you both, but I’m beginning to have some doubts about how active I should be in this investigation of yours. Savannah, I’m your attorney of record, so it might be good if I left myself some room to wiggle if the police find out what you’re up to, which trust me, they are going to, sooner or later. Murphy is a good cop, no matter what I think of him as a person. You two are just visiting Raleigh, but I have to work with these people after you’re gone. Maybe I should take a little less active role in the investigation from here on out.”

“She’s right,” I said as I looked at Zach.

“No doubt about it,” he agreed.

Jenny said, “Hang on. I’m not saying I don’t want to help at all. You both know that, don’t you?”

I hugged her. “Of course we do. I’ve got an idea. Why don’t you take that vacation you’ve been planning?”

“I’m not leaving town until your name is cleared,” she said emphatically.

“You could always go back to the office, then,” I suggested.

“Are you trying to get rid of me?”

Zach grinned. “You know better than that. You’re right about getting too close to what we’re doing, though.”

She crinkled her nose with her frown. “I’d go crazy relaxing, you both know me better than that. I think I’ll go into work after all. There’s always something I can do there. Besides, this stalker has been worrying me so much lately that I haven’t been able to focus on my work. That way, too, if I hang around and you need me, I’m just a telephone call away.”

“That sounds like a good plan,” I said.

Zach grinned. “We’ll see you at your place tonight, then.”

Jenny hugged me, and then embraced my husband.

On impulse, I asked, “Would you mind taking that box of phone books with you? I’m not done with them yet, and we’ve got our hands full with these suitcases.”

“Sure, I’d be glad to,” she said as she hefted them up and walked across the lobby and out the door.

After she was gone, Zach asked, “Okay, what should we do now?”

“Let me ask you something first. Are you certain you’re okay with Jenny taking a backseat in our investigation?”

“To be honest with you, I was a little worried about her being so actively involved myself. This is absolutely for the best.” He paused, and then grinned at me. “Besides, we work better as a team, just the two of us. We always have.”

“Agreed.” I stared at the bags still at our feet.

My husband must have been reading my mind. “What are we going to do with these suitcases? I’m not thrilled about the idea of letting them go just yet, especially when we’ve been commanded to surrender them.”

I thought about it, and then said, “If you’re game, I have an idea.”

His smile lit up his entire face. “Just try me.”

“ FOLLOW MY LEAD,” I SAID AS I PICKED UP ONE OF THE suitcases and started walking across the lobby where Jenny had just gone. As soon as I knew the clerk had seen me, I nodded to Zach, who followed me with the other one. It was clear that the clerk was wondering what we were up to. Instead of walking to the bag check station as I’d been instructed, I started for the exit. I was curious to see what the clerk would do, and the worst thing that could happen was that we retained possession of Derrick’s clothes. If Cary wanted them back, and I had a suspicion that she did, she’d have to come with us.

We nearly made it to the door before someone called out behind us, “Ms. Stone. Wait.”