Like burglars . . . we leave our fingerprints on broken locks, our voiceprints in the bugged rooms, our footprints in the wet concrete.
—Ross Macdonald
“I HAVE ONE camera on each floor and one on the stairs,” Fiona informed Eddie. “We’re not the Hilton. That’s as much security as we can afford.”
“I need to see the footage from the third-floor camera.”
Fiona blinked, lips tight. “Then you didn’t find the jewels?”
Eddie shook his head. “Her valuables are not in that room. I tore the place apart and found nothing.”
In the corner, Peyton Pemberton now decided to ignore us, as if she wasn’t the least bit involved in the current drama. Seemingly bored, she turned her back on the reception desk, checked her phone, and made a call.
Fiona sat back down in front of her desktop computer. A moment later a shot of the third-floor hallway appeared on the monitor. I knew it was live when I spied the tiny digital day and date counter on the lower right corner of the screen, displaying the current time.
Eddie leaned close and spoke softly. “Miss Pemberton tells me the jewels were in her room before she left for her run and gone when she returned. She said it was the only time she left her room today.”
Fiona nodded. “Shall we start with that?”
“Yes, please roll the recording back to the time Miss Pemberton said she went for her run.”
Fiona nodded again. The picture dissolved into blurry shapes and fuzzy lines as the clock on the corner of the screen ticked backward.
“Stop,” Eddie commanded.
The recording froze on the image of Peyton Pemberton leaving her room wearing her pink spandex workout clothes and canary-yellow sneakers. She carefully locked her door before stepping out of camera range.
“Okay,” Eddie said. “Now let me see the footage from the camera on the stairs.”
Fiona called it up and we watched Peyton Pemberton descend the staircase in the same outfit, draping a hand towel around her neck as she bounded down the steps.
“All right, she’s clearly gone,” Eddie said. “Now let’s look at everything that happened after that.”
The third-floor camera showed an empty hall until twenty minutes after Miss Pemberton departed. That’s when a lanky, forty-something woman unlocked the Peacock Room door. She wore a dour gray shift and a hairnet which covered her cinnamon-brown pixie, but I recognized her instantly.
Fiona fast forwarded fifteen minutes, until the maid reemerged, locked the door behind her, then rolled a small cleaning cart on to the next room.
“That’s Norma,” Fiona said. “She works afternoons as a maid.”
“I know Norma,” Eddie replied. “It can’t be her. Let’s keep searching.”
We did, but after reviewing the tape twice, it was obvious that only Norma had entered Peyton Pemberton’s room during that crucial time period.
Eddie took a slow, deep breath. “Where is Norma now?”
“Like I said, she gave Barney a ride down to the garage. They went off in that big white van of hers. He needed to pick up his car and—”
The deputy chief cut her off with a wave. “When will Norma be back?”
“Not until tomorrow afternoon. Usually, she stays in her room downstairs, but tonight she’s going to visit her sister in Millstone. I have the address here somewhere.”
“Can you call Norma?”
“She doesn’t have a phone.” Fiona shrugged. “You know Norma.”
“Is she still with Barney, do you think?”
“Maybe,” Fiona said. “Norma was still with him when I called a few minutes ago—”
“And that’s when you told Barney about the theft?”
Fiona nodded and Eddie frowned.
Busted flush, the ghost cracked in my head.
What are you talking about, Jack?
If the maid is guilty, the bird-lady innkeeper already tipped the woman off that the caper’s blown. You won’t see that dame again until the police lineup, if your Keystone Cops can catch her, that is.
I know Norma, Jack. She’s a lovely woman with a wise spirit and kind heart. She’s no jewel thief.
Oh, you know that? Jack replied. Well, maybe you don’t. After viewing that third-floor picture show, I’m sure your pal Eddie has doubts.
It’s his job to have doubts, I pointed out.
It’s also his job to question the accused.
Jack was right, which is why Eddie instructed Fiona to contact her husband.
“Fiona, I want you to call Barney right now. If Norma is still with him, tell them both to get back here, pronto. If Norma’s gone, find out exactly when she left and where she was headed.”
Fiona reached for the phone.
“One more thing,” he added. “Where is that housekeeping cart Norma was pushing around?”
“It should be in the third-floor utility closet. That’s the unmarked door right next to the third-floor landing.”
“I didn’t see that door on your security camera footage.”
“Need I remind you we only have one camera on each floor?” Fiona chided. “We don’t have a camera pointed at that door because nobody is going to rob the linen closet.”
“Where is that door again?”
“It’s on the right as you reach the top of the stairs. The very first door. Farther down the hall is the Peacock Room, the door opposite is the Robin’s Roost. At the end of the hall you’ll find the Osprey’s Den and Sparrow’s Suite.
“Are any of the rooms occupied?”
Fiona shook her head. “Everyone on that floor checked out early this morning. Everyone but Miss Pemberton.”
“May I have the key to the maid’s closet?”
“You don’t need one, Eddie. It’s never locked. We leave it open so our guests can grab soap, shampoo, or towels if they need them.”
“What’s on that maid’s cart?”
“Cleaning products. Extra washcloths and towels. More of those little bottles of shampoo and bars of soap. There’s a bin on the bottom for used bedclothes and towels.”
Eddie rubbed his chin. “Is that where I’d find Miss Pemberton’s sheets from last night?”
“Actually, yes. By now that bin would have been emptied in the laundry room, but Barney needed a ride to the garage to pick up his Lincoln, so he asked Norma to knock off early and drive him. He promised to take care of it when he got back.”
“Then I’m going to check that bin,” Eddie said. “Those jewels might have ended up tangled in the dirty sheets.”
“You think that’s likely?” Fiona asked.
Eddie shrugged. “I admit I’m groping. This has got to be some sort of misunderstanding, or an accident. There’s no way Norma stole those jewels.”
I agreed with Eddie, though I wondered what convinced him she was innocent. Did he know something about Norma that I didn’t?
While Fiona dialed up her husband, Miss Pemberton continued talking on her mobile phone.
With her insurance company, no doubt, Jack cracked.
As Eddie headed for the stairs, the ghost goosed me with an icy draft.
What are you waiting for, doll?!
Huh?
Go on upstairs with your copper friend.
Why? I replied. Eddie doesn’t need help.
But you do! It’s clear as crystal your Book Whisperer is in a peck of trouble. If she was desperate or greedy or stupid enough to swipe that necklace, then she’s also in a pile of danger. Believe me, I know.
What do you know? I demanded. What kind of danger?
This ain’t the time for a long story. It’s time for you to make short work of those stairs. Now, get us up there, pronto!
Considering Jack’s words (and chilly kick in the pants), I didn’t waste any more time arguing. The deputy chief was all the way up the first flight of stairs when I called out—
“Wait, Eddie! I’m going with you.”