Chapter Seven
The girls wanted to find out about how the sea turtle was progressing, so they called Dr. Cramer at Sea World Rescue to find out.
“He’s doing great!” Dr. Cramer assured Kacey, “In fact, we are planning on releasing him on Friday this week as long as he continues to get better.”
“I’m so glad to hear that,” Kacey replied.
“Oh, and I should congratulate you also on your other rescue,” said Dr. Cramer, “We heard about it yesterday when one of our technicians saw it on the Internet. You girls are real heroes for doing two rescues in one day. That has to be a record!”
“Oh, thanks. We were glad we could help that girl. I heard on the news that she’s being released from the hospital this Friday, too,” Kacey responded.
Dr. Cramer thanked Kacey and her friends again before the call ended. Kacey was sharing her news with Emma and Ava when the room phone rang, and Ava picked it up.
“Oh, hello, Mr. Winters. I’m Ava Cruz, and I’m here at the hotel with my two friends, Kacey Carlson and Emma Santos. We wanted to talk to you after we heard that your car was broken into and an i-Pad was stolen. We also had some things robbed from our room, and we wondered if the two cases might be connected. Would you mind answering a couple of questions about the robbery?”
Kacey and Emma stood next to Ava so they could hear Mr. Winters as he said, “No, I don’t mind.”
Ava began, “I was wondering approximately what time your i-Pad was stolen from your car.”
“Ah, it was about five-thirty in the afternoon. I was on my way to meet someone, but I decided to get something to eat before I left. I thought my back pack would be safe for a while, so I left it on the back seat of my car, and I locked the car. Then when I came back about twenty minutes later, it was gone. I had a brand new i-Pad inside it. The police said it looked like someone had used a tool to unlock my car and get the back pack out.”
“Was anything else taken, or anything missing from your room?” Ava asked.
“No, just my back pack,” he answered.
“I’m sorry to hear that. I hope you get it back,” Ava said.
“Me too,” Mr. Winters replied.
“Well, thanks for talking with us, Mr. Winters. I guess that’s all I wanted to know. But wait... what restaurant did you go to when the robbery happened?”
He replied, “The hotel café on the first floor. I like it there because the service is quick and the food is not too expensive.”
“I know the place,” Ava told him, “The food is good there, too. Well, thanks Mr. Winters. Good bye.”
After she hanged the phone up, Kacey asked, “Well, do you think there’s a connection between that robbery and ours?”
“Maybe. He was away at dinner when his car was robbed, and the woman in 212 was at breakfast when her room was robbed. Those are the only similarities between those two cases that I can see.”
Kacey paced around the room thinking for a minute, and then asked, “Did that woman in 212 say which restaurant she went to for breakfast?”
Emma spoke up, “She went to the café downstairs...the same place we had our breakfast this morning. I remember her saying that.”
“Why would you remember that?” Ava asked.
Emma shrugged, “I don’t know, but anything to do with food always sticks in my memory. I guess that’s why I became a chef.”
“A sous-chef, you mean,” Ava reminded her.
“Well, yeah, a sous-chef now, but someday I’ll be head chef, and when I am, you’ll be glad you know me!”
Ava and Kacey laughed, and then Kacey said, “So two of the robberies happened when the guests were eating at the café. But our robbery happened when we were at the pool, so there really isn’t a pattern there.”
“Ah, but there is, my dear Watson!” Ava said with a gleam in her eye.
“Who’s Watson?” Emma asked.
Ava said, “He was Sherlock Holmes’ partner. You know who Sherlock Holmes was, don’t you?”
“Of course I do! He was a famous detective in London back in the horse and buggy days,” Emma replied curtly.
“A famous fictional detective,” Ava corrected her, “But even Sherlock would have noted the similarity in all three cases.”
Kacey grinned and teased her, “Okay, Sherlock, what’s the connection?”
Ava replied, “All three cases are similar in the respect that they happened on hotel property while the rooms were empty.”
Emma cried, “Oh, big deal! That’s obvious! Who’s going to rob a room when somebody’s in there?”
“It’s still an important clue,” Ava insisted, “And that means there is certainly some kind of connection. I wonder if the locks on the doors were forced during the robberies in 212 and here, or if the robber used a room key.”
“What difference would that make?” Kacey asked.
“If they were forced open, then anyone could have done the crime. But if a key were used-“
“Then only someone who had a hotel master key could get in,” Kacey interjected.
“Right! And that would narrow down our list of suspects to people who have access to a master key.”
Emma said, “That means it’s probably somebody who works here!”
“Yeah, right,” Ava replied, and asked Kacey, “Who has a master key here at the hotel?”
Kacey shrugged, “I don’t know. The manager, Mr. Robinson, didn’t seem to want to discuss the robbery in 212 with me. He’s keeping things pretty close to himself.”
“We need someone who works here who’ll tell us- Hey! What about-“
“Tanya!” Emma and Kacey cried simultaneously.
Kacey nodded and went for her phone. Ava went to the hotel room door and opened it. She crouched down and inspected the lock to see if any scratch marks were evident, or if the lock looked as if it had been pried open.
Soon Kacey was on the phone talking to Tanya. She asked her about the master keys which could be used to open any room in the hotel.
“Well, I think Security guys all have them, and the manager, Mr. Robinson. The maids have keys that will only open the rooms on their section of the floor that they clean. I can’t really think of anyone else.”
“Thanks, Tanya. We’ve been trying to figure out who robbed our room and 212, and we think it may be someone with a master key. We’ll keep you informed of our progress. We want to help you get your job back so you can go to college. We know how much that means to you and your family.”
“Thanks! I really appreciate your help!” she replied warmly.
“You’re welcome. See you soon!” Kacey promised and ended the call.
When Kacey told Ava and Emma what Tanya had said, Ava repeated thoughtfully, “Security, Mr. Robinson, and the maids who clean this floor. Well, it’s a start.”
“You can do this, Ava. You’ll have this case solved before the Security guys will!” Kacey said.
Emma added, “Yeah, but what if it’s one of the Security guys who is doing the robberies?’
The girls spent the rest of the day enjoying the attractions at Universal Resort. Being big Harry Potter fans, they visited the Harry Potter areas first and rode on a coaster called Dragon Challenge, then the Flight of the Hippogriff, and finally, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. The girls screamed at the top of their lungs when the coasters soared high up into the sky and then spiraled down toward the ground at a tremendous speed.
After the rides they visited each of the quaint little shops in Hogsmeade, while sampling unique treats like chocolate frogs and pumpkin juice. They ate lunch at the large, mystical restaurant before taking the Hogwort's Express train to Daigon Alley. The girls were thrilled to see the characters from the Harry Potter series interacting with the guests on the ride at Gringott's Bank. When the girls left the exit, Emma burst out, "That was totally awesome!"
"It really was!" Kacey agreed.
Ava commented, "I'm so glad we decided to come here on Spring Break instead of going to a
boring old beach. Tomorrow the guys will come and we'll go to Disney World and go surfing with them, too."
The girls spent the rest of the day exploring the shops and alleys of the magical world. Emma bought a magical wand and used it to make the shop windows come alive. The girls were amazed at the things they saw. Afterward, they had dinner at one of the restaurants and went on many more roller coaster and thrill rides before finding a good spot to watch the fireworks show. They were disappointed when it ended, but excited.
"I've never seen so many beautiful fireworks!" Kacey remarked.
"Yeah, and it's not even the Fourth of July. I bet on that holiday they have a pretty spectacular fire works show here," said Emma.
"I can only imagine!" Ava agreed.
"Let's go back to the hotel. We can still go for a swim since the pools are open until eleven p.m.," Kacey suggested.
"Great idea!" Ava replied, "I need to work off those chocolate frogs and pumpkin juice!"