At the end of the day, I’m relieved to lock the cafe door and get ready to go home. As if the shock of Morley Haynes dropping dead at the Halloween Festival wasn’t enough, watching Chloe get arrested for his murder on top of that has pushed me to the limit. And then hearing about what seems to be a never-ending list of people who wanted Morley dead is exhausting.
I hope the rabbits and Stumpy are in my office where they’re supposed to be, so I don’t have to drive around town looking for them. But when I peek in the office, they aren’t there.
“Does anybody know where the three hooligans are?” I call out.
“Last I heard, they were down at Hotel Glacier hoping to get treats leftover from last night.”
“Are you serious?” I ask in dismay. “They had tons of treats last night, anyway. And now I have to chase down there and get them.” I jam my arms into my coat, getting more frustrated by the second. “Okay, I guess I’m headed to the hotel. If they come back, tell them they’re to stay put or no carrots for a week.”
“Will do boss, see you tomorrow.”
I stomp out to my car. I’m so annoyed that sometimes those three are a lot of work. I should just tell them they can get jobs at the hotel and stay there. Although I’m not sure what kind of work they could do other than stealing snacks from hotel guests.
When I pull up to the Hotel Glacier, I see Harvey out front directing guests to the check-in desk. “Good evening Harvey!” I call out.
“Well, good evening to you, Miss Charlotte! Two days in a row. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Have you seen Marshall and Marcus and their cat, by any chance?”
“I just saw those rascally creatures a few minutes ago in the lounge, as a matter of fact. I do believe they were trying to talk a young man out of his brussels sprouts.”
“Okay, thanks,” I grumble as I head into the hotel to collect my erstwhile familiars. But I stop in my tracks when I remember. “Hey, Harvey!”
“Yes, miss, how can I be of assistance?”
“Do you happen to know if an Owen Munoz was at the party last night?”
“Ahhhh, the party where Morley Haynes was thought to have perished from a heart attack but is now considered a murder victim? I assume that’s why you’re interested?”
“Uhhh, yeah, kind of.” I don’t want him to blab to others that I’ve been asking around about the guest list.
“No, I don’t believe Mr. Munoz was here last night.”
“Oh, okay, thanks.” How disappointing.
I make my way back into the lounge searching for Marshall, Marcus, and Stumpy, and sure enough, they’re gathered around a busboy, staring up at him with their best sad faces, as they like to call them. They told me this is how they get treats from everyone.
The poor busboy tries to get a full tub of dirty glasses back to the kitchen, but those three are blocking his path. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I don’t know what you’re trying to tell me.”
“All right, you three, let him do his job!” I scold them.
Upon seeing me, Marshall and Marcus hop straight at me, with Stumpy hobbling along behind. He gets along remarkably well, considering his back legs are nothing but stumps. He told the rabbits he’s an injured war veteran. I’m not sure how that’s true, but I’m also not sure how I have talking rabbit familiars either, so who knows.
The three of them bounce around at my feet. “Is it dinnertime already?” Marcus asks.
“Yes, and it’s time to go home! What were you doing here?”
“The usual,” Marshall tells me.
“All three of you get more than enough food at home. I don’t understand why you think you need to beg treats from everyone all over town.”
Marcus shrugs his tiny rabbit shoulders. “Because it’s fun.”
“Whatever, let’s go.” As the four of us head to the hotel entrance, I remember that Shauna’s boyfriend works here and I stop in my tracks. Poor Stumpy isn’t watching where he’s going and runs into the back of my legs where he falls over.
“Geez, lady, that wasn’t very nice,” Marcus scolds me.
“I didn’t do it on purpose. I just now remembered something though.” I’m not sure why they still insist on calling me lady. Rabbits are the oddest creatures. But I suspect mine are extra bizarre.
“What did you remember?” Marshall asks. “Did you remember we need more parsley?”
I sigh so loudly a couple walking by stares at me. “Are you ever not thinking about food?” I ask in exasperation, which really causes the couple to stare at me. I just smile, nod my head, and wait for them to move on before addressing the rabbits again.
“I don’t suppose the three of you know if Neil Doyle is here today?”
The rabbits then consult with Stumpy while I wait. It’s a wonder we don’t get thrown out of more places. “Stumpy says he’s the guy who’s standing by the water fountain, looking at his phone. The one wearing the apron.”
“Nice work Stumpy!” I tell him.
“Does that mean we get more treats?” Marcus asks.
I groan. “Just follow me. And don’t go anywhere else. We’re going home right after this.”
Our little caravan approaches Neil at the fountain while getting more odd looks. The locals are used to seeing us around town, but I’m sure we are quite the sight to the tourists.
“Hi, excuse me, Neil?” I ask gently.
Neil looks up from his phone. “Good evening. Is there something I can help you with?”
“Oh, no, I’m not a guest of the hotel or anything. I was just wondering, were you working here last night?”
“Yes, I was.”
“Would you be able to tell me which tables you waited on?”
He looks confused at first. “Oh, did you leave something behind? People do that all the time. We have a lost and found box at the front desk.”
It didn’t even occur to me I should have thought of a good excuse before I questioned him. “Yes, I left, my, um, shoes here.”
“Your shoes?”
Drat! That sounded really dumb.
“Yes, and I was sitting near Morley Haynes’ table. Was that in your section, by any chance?”
He looks like he smelled something bad. He’s clearly not a fan either and I don’t blame him after what Shauna told me. “No, I was assigned to that section, but switched with another server. I didn’t see any shoes left behind, but like I said, check with the lost and found because they could be there. I have to get to work now, sorry,” he mumbles as he hurries away from us.
I watch him walk across the atrium and toward the kitchen for a while before telling the boys it’s time to go home.
“Were you questioning him about last night because you’re trying to find out who killed Mr. Haynes?” Marcus asks.
“How did you know?”
“Oh, people are talking. It’s all over town, you know,” Marshall explains.
“I don’t doubt that.”
“Do you want us to let you know if we hear anything especially juicy?” Marcus asks.
“Yes, please, that would help a lot.”
“We’ll get extra treats for that, right?”
“Let’s just go home.”
By the time the four of us get home, I’m so tired it’s all I can do to get the boys fed and dinner warmed up in the microwave for me. What a long and trying day. I don’t even know if Chloe is still in jail or if she could get out on bail. And then I have all the other people I talked to or heard about today still swirling around in my head.
Right before bed, I scribble down some notes about the case. It’s a good thing Drew isn’t here. I’d be in trouble for sure. I wish he’d have been a little more forthcoming when I saw him earlier. I know he isn’t supposed to talk to us about his cases, but he usually at least gives me a few hints.
Tomorrow I need to see Ethan Davis. Although considering Morley fired him right before he died, I don’t know how to track him down. Hopefully, Miranda and Damien will have some ideas. Even though chasing down leads makes Damien nervous, we can usually talk him into helping us.
And then I remember I never started on Damien’s letter of recommendation because I was so busy trying to solve a crime. Which I’m not supposed to be doing in the first place. And I don’t think we told Drew about their foster parent application, either. I’m the worst friend ever.