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MARGARET WAS STATIONED behind the reception counter, still covering for Gloria after her unfortunate incident that morning. “Margaret,” Rosemary said as she approached and rested her elbows on the mahogany surface. “Do you know where Gloria is?”
The girl shook her head. “No, but I assume she’s in her cabin, resting.” Her eyes narrowed, and she asked, with an edge to her voice they’d never heard before, “Why? Is everything all right?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know,” Rosemary replied, biting her lip and toying with the idea of finding Gloria and wringing her neck.
“What seems to be the trouble?” Benny’s voice came from behind Rosemary’s shoulder. “I heard a commotion on your floor. Is anyone hurt?”
Rosemary’s eyes flicked upwards. “Nothing to worry about; it’s all under control. Right now, we need to find Gloria.”
“Why? Isn’t she well? I thought the doctor said she wasn’t badly hurt.”
“We think—well, we’re worried about her,” was all Rosemary could say.
Vera stepped in, pulling Benny around the corner towards the lift where she assumed was enough privacy to speak candidly. “We think she might have been the one who stole the register money,” she explained to Benny, “and possibly, the one who killed Cecily.”
That got Benny’s attention, and his face screwed up into a pained, pensive expression. “I can’t see why she would kill Miss DeVant after...” He trailed off as usual, further irritating an already frustrated Vera.
“After what, Benny?” Rosemary asked, reaching out to touch him lightly on the arm. The action seemed to rouse him from his reverie.
“Well, the night she died, I heard the two of them talking. I heard Miss DeVant tell Gloria she would help her if she could. Wasn’t certain what they were talking about, but Gloria didn’t sound angry. She sounded sad. You know, she sends most of her money home to her family in Greece. I think she has a sister who goes to the doctor a lot. Gloria’s a nice girl,” Benny said, his cheeks pinking.
“Benny, why didn’t you tell us this before?” Rosemary wanted to know.
Benny blushed. “Why?” he asked. “Is it important? You never asked about Gloria.”
Rosemary sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that day. “No, we didn’t, I suppose. We just assumed that because she was also a victim, she couldn’t have been the murderer.” Her mind began to race, and the pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place.
“It seems as though nearly everyone has been lying about their alibi. Charlotte said she was in her room, but really, she was with Benjamin. Benjamin says he was with Geneviève, but now we know for certain that was also a lie. Richard Wright says he was in his room, and while I doubt that’s entirely truthful given his tendency to wander around at all hours of the night, I don’t believe he’s capable of murder. Then there’s you, Benny, who said you were in your cabin all night when really, you were on the beach walking Alfie. Gloria was supposedly on the beach with Walter and—oh!” She stopped abruptly and wished there was a chair behind her to sink into.
“What is it?” Vera asked.
Rosemary explained. “It was windy that night. So windy that it would have been cold on the beach. Not so cold that Benny here would have neglected little Alfie, but windy enough so that a fire wouldn’t have stayed lit. Walter and Gloria weren’t on the beach that night. Something has always struck me as funny about their conversation, and now I know why. They were both lying, which means they both have something to hide.”
Benny still appeared doubtful, but he was starting to worry. “They said they were on the beach?” he asked.
“Yes,” Rosemary hedged.
“That spot I told you about, it’s Walter’s. He likes to take the ladies there to...um...well, you know.” What Benny was implying, both Rosemary and Vera understood. “He’s always seemed awfully keen to know Miss DeVant’s plans for the hotel after she retired—”
The conversation was interrupted by the insistent tapping of a finger on Rosemary’s shoulder. She whirled around and came face to face with Mrs. Haversham, one of the old biddies who liked to plant themselves in the lounge and watch all the comings and goings.
“Mrs. Lillywhite, we couldn’t help overhearing your conversation—” Of course you could have, Rosemary thought to herself. “But that lovely little maid of yours, Anna, went off with that man named Walter. I believe he planned to show her his staff cabin if you know what I mean.” Again, Rosemary understood the insinuation. “We thought it a bit untoward, but it really wasn’t our place to pass judgment.” Which you certainly did, Rosemary thought, though this time she was grateful. “If he’s done something wrong, I’d hate to see that sweet girl in any kind of trouble.”
“How long ago?” Vera demanded.
“Perhaps a half, maybe three-quarters of an hour ago.”
Vera turned to Rosemary, the realization that Anna was alone and possibly poised to lose her innocence to a deranged killer dawning on both of them at the same time.
“We need to let someone know what we’re doing,” Rosemary said. “Either Max or Freddie or Des. Otherwise, they’ll kill us if we haven’t got ourselves killed first.”
“I’ll go and get them; you take Benny with you,” Vera suggested. She strode to the lift, pressed the button, and when nothing happened directed a panicked look at Benny. “We don’t have time for this,” she said when he raised his hands in a gesture that indicated there wasn’t much he could do.
Mrs. Haversham spoke up. “I’ll go and find your brother and his friends; you run along.” How long it might take her to climb the stairs ran through Rosemary’s mind, but they were out of options. She made up her mind and stalked across the lobby.
“Benny, are you coming?” Rosemary asked, turning and waving her hand to hurry him along.
He hesitated. “Where did Margaret go? She asked me to check on things upstairs...I don’t want to leave without doing my duty,” he said, looking around.
“Everything is fine upstairs; maybe Margaret went up to find out for herself.” Vera brushed off his concern.
“Still, Cecily said never to leave the lobby unattended.”
“Benny, come on!” Rosemary pleaded.
Appearing to make up his mind, the porter followed Rosemary out onto the flagstones and towards the beach.
