Christy Barritt - Squeaky Clean 04 - Dirty Deeds (23 page)

“You’re eating. With him. The man of my dreams.”

“We’re just chatting.”

Her eyes widened. “About what?”

I wasn’t sure if she was hoping I would say “about her” or what she was thinking. I went with the truth. “We’re going for an ATV ride.”

She squealed. “I want to go! Please, let me go!”

“Really?”

She nodded. “It would be like a dream come true.”

“One condition.” I remembered her whole,
I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine.
Maybe this would be a good time to employ that method of reasoning.

“Anything.”

“I need to meet with a few of your colleagues.”

Her head jerked back. “My colleagues? You mean the other maids?”

I nodded. So much for trying to sound refined. “Yes, the other maids.”

“About what.”

I leaned closer. “It’s a long story … I’ll explain later.”

***

Nobody puts Gabby in the corner.
That’s what I kept telling myself, at least.

Thirty minutes later, I had finished picking at my breakfast, changed into my tennis shoes, and taken the shuttle from the resort into the town that cozied up beside the place.

I paused in front of the shop where I had rented the ATV. Down the road, I spotted Buck’s Garage. A familiar figure stepped out the front door. Who was that man? Where had I seen him before?

I snapped my fingers. The valet. Bill. The one who’d spoken with me last night. He looked different without his uniform on. What was he doing in the shop?

I shrugged it off. There was nothing illegal about him being there. Even valets had to have their cars worked on, for goodness sakes. Now that I thought about it, he was the same person I’d seen leaving the shop when I was here before. Maybe he had a friend who worked there.

I pushed open the door to the rental shop and spotted Ajay there. He’d traded his “dignitary wear” for jeans and golf shirt again. “Nice look. I meant to tell you that yesterday, but I got distracted by my near death experience.”

He looked down and smiled. “Thank you. I feel underdressed.”

“Look, I was wondering if it would be okay if my friend joined us. She’s been wanting to explore the mountains, and then she heard I was going today.”

He offered a slight bow again. “Of course. That is fine. What is the saying? The more, the merrier.”

I grinned. “Perfect. She should be here any time now.”

We were filling out the paperwork when the door opened again, and Deanna stepped inside. I had to blink twice. Her makeup looked perfect. Her hair had been straightened. Her clothes practically looked new. How had she transformed herself like that in thirty minutes? The woman was a miracle worker.

“Ajay, this is Deanna,” I introduced them.

Deanna reached her hand forward. “It’s a pleasure.”

He did his little bowing thing. “No, the pleasure is mine.” He tilted his head and squinted at Deanna. “Do I know you?”

She shook her head, a bit of a sparkle in her eyes. “I don’t think so. I think I just have one of those faces. I get that a lot.”

He nodded, satisfied with her answer. A few minutes later, everything was complete. I’d rented a metal detector and strapped it to the back of the four-wheeler. I’d also purchased an overpriced book bag down in one of the shops at Allendale and had found some cheap rope at a General Store that I put inside, along with some water, peanuts, and my cell phone.

I cranked my engine. I was pretty sure I remembered the route back to the overlook.

I was going to find my engagement ring, one way or another.

I zoomed to the front of the pack. There was no chatting over the roar of these ATVs, so I didn’t bother to try and be polite. Instead, I climbed and climbed and climbed the mountain. The moisture from last night’s storm made the path a little more slippery than it had been yesterday. A couple of times my wheels slid before finding traction again, making my heart speed with adrenaline.

Finally, the overlook came into view. I motioned toward it, and Ajay nodded behind me. We pulled the ATVs up to a clear patch of land and tugged off our helmets. I glanced back at Deanna as she pulled hers off and couldn’t help but grin when she shook her hair out like one might see on a movie.

I was going to miss that lady when I left the resort in a couple of days. If Riley’s car was ready in time.

And if Riley would still let me ride with him.

There were too many variables in there for my comfort.

I was going to make this right—starting by finding my engagement ring. I walked to the edge of the boulder and looked down. Just as had happened last time, my stomach clenched as the drop soared downward. It would be a long, steep fall to the bottom. “That’s where I lost it. It has to be.”

Ajay peered down behind me. “I must say, after that rain last night, I am not certain you will find it. What is that saying? It will be like a needle in a haystack?”

I couldn’t argue with that. “I agree. But what other choice do I have?”

I glanced at the railing and the gigantic boulder. Shivers raced through me as I remembered Jackie’s lifeless body. Police tape still marked off the area. I was going to have to go out to the left to avoid the crime scene area. My guess was that they’d collected all the evidence they could yesterday before the rains came.

I pulled the metal detector from the back of my vehicle and tossed Ajay the rope from my backpack. He looped it around a tree and tied it securely.

“Just in case,” he explained.

I shoved the metal detector through my book bag. “Just in case,” I explained.

I caught Deanna putting on some lipstick. “Just in case,” she mouthed.

I hid my smile.

Ajay pointed to a path a few feet away. “It is not as steep there. It might be a good location to go down. We will have this rope to help us back up if we need it.”

“Sounds great.” Sounded like Ajay was a person who liked to think things through. As much as I hated to admit it, I needed people around me who helped me to think before jumping. I’d gotten myself into more than one pickle before by being rash. I thought Riley was the one who’d be the
ying
to my
yang
, the one who’d help balance me out.

My heart thudded in my chest.

Relationships never seemed to be easy for me. The happily ever after where someone swept me off my feet and I never looked back wasn’t destined to be written as a part of my life story. But I also realized that I wasn’t the type of person who wanted someone who’d kiss my feet and drool over my every word. I liked someone who challenged me, who got my blood boiling at times, who wasn’t afraid to speak his mind around me. Those things made a relationship seem real.

Ajay started down first, insisting that I follow his footsteps. I gripped a tree branch and lowered myself onto a rock. It wasn’t as unsteady as I’d feared it might be. I let out the breath I held.

Deanna brought up the rear, already slightly out of breath with sweat sprinkling across her forehead. That didn’t stop a broad grin from stretching across her face every time she looked at Ajay.

Deanna and Ajay talked back and forth about India and Tandoori chicken and the number of factory jobs the U.S. had outsourced to his country. My mind went to Riley.

Our relationship had definitely had its ups and downs. I’d been attracted to him when he’d first moved into our apartment building, but then Veronica had shown up. Then I started dating a detective named Parker. We’d broken up, and Riley and I continued to build our friendship.

Finally, Riley and I had both been ready to take things to the next level. I’d almost blown it again when my past had pounded at my psyche so badly that I felt destined to fail at every relationship. I thought I’d moved past that issue, but maybe I hadn’t. Maybe there were things that no amount of prayer would change. Maybe they were the thorns in our flesh, so to speak.

I shook my head. I wasn’t sure I believed that, but I wasn’t sure I didn’t believe it either. I just knew that prayer wasn’t some magical potion that made everything right in your life, nor was God a genie who granted your every wish. No, a relationship with God and prayer was more about changing you than it was about changing the circumstances around you.

I reached the bottom and tuned back into the conversation around me just in time to hear Deanna say something about how much she hated calling customer service numbers and speaking to people in India. I glanced back at Ajay and saw him squirm. He’d reached the bottom of the incline and found an area where the ground leveled off for a moment. He squatted and began moving some leaves out of the way.

I needed to do the same, but first I took in a deep breath. I glanced up at the mountains around me. I felt so small here, surrounded by the massive creation of God.

Faith could move mountains, the Bible said. I needed to have more faith in my life to believe that God’s hand was in everything. He knew what the future held. I had to learn to trust Him more … I had to learn to trust Riley more, too, for that matter.

“Are you sure you lost it here?” Ajay stood and squinted against sunlight that snuck in between two trees.

I looked around at the vast wilderness around me and sighed. “It’s the only place I can think of where it might have slipped off.”

We continued to search. Deanna chattered, this time about white water rafting and mountain biking. I pulled out the metal detector and found some coins, some bottle tops, a couple of screws, but no engagement ring.

I kicked some more leaves to the side, feeling like this whole trip was hopeless. My ring was gone. Was this some kind of symbolism of my entire relationship with Riley? I had been crazy to think I could ever find it.

Something unusual caught my eye. I bent down and picked up a … business card?

“What did you find?” Ajay asked.

I read the words there. Derek Waters, Malpractice Attorney. A Glamour Shots version of his smiling mug stared at me.

What was his business card doing down here?

I closed my eyes as the worst-case scenarios began playing out in my mind.

This wasn’t good. It wasn’t good at all.

The only reason Derek’s business card would be here was if … Derek had also been here. If Derek had been here, that meant he had some kind of secret of his own, one that possibly had to do with Jackie’s death.

CHAPTER 29

Two hours later, we’d given up on our search, returned our ATVs, and headed back to the hotel. Ajay had thanked us for our company and then scurried off.

Derek’s business card burned in my pocket. I had to figure out how to best approach this subject and what exactly to do with the evidence. I was walking a tight rope here, and I had to handle this situation carefully, lest I fall to my death in front of a crowd of cheering onlookers.

That’s why I was glad I’d had Deanna do a little favor for me earlier. I was even gladder that it was time for my meeting to begin. Deanna led me upstairs and into one of the closets where the maids kept their supplies. It was bigger than I thought, which was good considering there were already four other women in there.

“Everyone, this is the woman I’ve been telling you about. Gabby St. Claire,” Deanna introduced me. “Because of her, I was able to go hiking today with Mr. Super Hot, which I found out today there’s an Indian word for ‘good morning’ that’s ‘suprahaat.’ Kind of sounds like ‘super hot,’ huh?”

I waved hello, feeling for a moment like I was in a closet AA meeting.

I glanced at the circle of ladies around me. I recognized Shirley, and I was pretty sure the woman who cleaned my room was here too, but there were also three others I didn’t know.

“Thanks for meeting with me. I know you all have jobs to do, so I appreciate your time,” I started. I tried to take a step back, but the space was too tight. I hit the wall instead.

Two carts had been pushed out into the hallway, and the place smelled like lemon and pine … and a little bit of B.O.

I remained focused. “I’m investigating the death of Jackie Harrington.”

Shirley’s hand went to her heart. “That woman who was found dead?”

I nodded. “That’s right.”

“I heard her boyfriend did it,” another woman said.

“There’s evidence that he may have been set up,” I said. “He did do some unscrupulous things, but I don’t believe he killed her.”

“Who did then?” Deanna asked.

“That’s where I need your help. You’re all the eyes and the ears of this hotel. Did any of you see anything strange going on here recently? It may seem minor, but that’s okay. Anything could help.”

Everyone took turns glancing at each other. Finally, a skinny woman with dirty blonde hair spoke up. “The management has been coming down hard on us lately.”

“About what?”

“We have to maintain the image of a luxurious, safe hotel.” The woman shrugged. “I guess there have been too many mistakes lately. The manager’s not happy.”

“You mean Bentley Allen?” I could picture him clearly in my mind from my brief encounters with him. “What kind of mistakes?”

The maids looked at each other again. Finally, the dirty blonde spoke again. “It varies, really. I mean, we’ve had a couple of cars stolen from the parking lot. That never looks good. Then Maurice—the bellhop—died in that kayaking accident. A couple of the valets quit.”

“Those are all unrelated, right?” I asked, not putting anything together.

“Most likely. I mean, I don’t see how they’re connected, other than making us look bad,” Deanna said. “Image is everything here, if you haven’t noticed. It was a big snafu when the valets quit because it left us shorthanded. It’s not that easy to fill positions out here in the middle of nowhere.”

I nodded, trying to absorb the information and what it might mean for my investigation. Finally, I reached into my pocket and pulled out Derek’s business card. I held it up and showed the group Derek’s picture. “Have any of you seen him?”

The dirty blonde snorted. “He makes himself known.”

I tilted my head. “What do you mean?”