“Mrs. Bradley, here, said she looked out her window this morning and there was the body.”
Chief Viscuglia looked at me. “Is that correct, Mrs. Bradley?”
“Yes. You see, I woke up rather early and went to my window to look at the weather, since it was so foggy last night. When I looked down I saw her.”
The chief took out a small hand-held electronic device and began making notes with a metal pencil. He turned to Deputy Cortez.
“Gary, get an ambulance over here and notify the medical examiner.” Turning back to me, he poised his pencil. “Mrs. Bradley, I need some information from you — full name, address, phone, e-mail and reason for your being here at the Ritz-Carlton. I also need to ask you not to leave the premises without notifying me. Is that understood?”
“Of course.” I wondered if I was a suspect. “Chief, do you think she was pushed out the window?”
“Ma’am, we don’t think anything. We gather facts and we investigate.”
“I see. Well, I noticed she wasn’t wearing a coat and it was pretty foggy last night.”
“Mrs. Bradley, we’ll contact you for a statement. Right now, I have to get the body to the morgue and write up the report, so if you don’t mind, why don’t you go back to doing whatever it is that you do and let me get on with my job.” He started to leave as the ambulance approached.
“Just one more thing, Chief.”
He stopped — his annoyance obvious.
“What is it, Mrs. Bradley?”
“It’s just that she isn’t wearing any jewelry. That means she was probably in her room when whatever happened, happened. Jewelry is the first thing a woman takes off when she’s undressing and the last thing she puts on when she dresses.”
The chief cocked his head and looked irritated. “You’re not going to leave this alone, are you?”
“I only knew Regina for a short time, Chief, but she was a gifted young woman. If someone killed her I want to do all I can to see that they’re caught.”
“All right, Mrs. Bradley.”
“Call me Jillian.”
“You got it. You can call me Chief.”
I detected a tiny smile and was grateful he wasn’t a bonehead.
The medics gently loaded the body into the back of the van with the chief carefully overseeing the process.
Before he left he turned toward me. “I’ll be in touch, so stick around the hotel.”
It seemed like an eternity. The hysteria, the blaring lights all over the green. A bride showed up for the scheduled wedding and broke down in tears, and faded from blissful wife-to-be to a pile of white satin and distress in less than five minutes flat.
The whole episode took thirty minutes from my mindless jog to my return. Teddy would worry.
Need to keep it together for a few more minutes....
Before I could even get my key in the door, the tears streamed. I hadn’t known her that well, but just eight hours before she’d been a living breathing person, not a mangled pile of limbs in a heap. She probably had a family, cherished dreams — had been a child once.
I hate this stupid key.
I brushed the tears out of my eyes. The door finally unlatched and Teddy raced up to meet me with a yelp. He was so intelligent. He knew me.
“She’s dead, Teddy.” I sat on the edge of the bed, letting my arms hang loose in shock. “She was a friend.”
He climbed into my lap. I couldn’t resist the emotions that swelled within me. I pulled him close and cried.
I had plans to meet the garden club that afternoon. The meeting was all the more important now.
Ann greeted me for tea with eyes big as saucers.
“Jillian!” She spoke in a loud whisper.
“They’ve found a body….”
“I know.”
“I overheard the police…said that you….”
“Found it?” I needed to hold it together. “Yes.”
“Oh dear, how awful. How horrible!”
Nicole and Dominique stepped off the elevator and joined us.
“Look.” I swallowed hard. “Why don’t we just go to the Conservatory for breakfast? I have orders not to leave the hotel. I’ll explain everything in there.”
The Conservatory was empty except for the two ladies who sat close to the cashier, heads bent in animated conversation. Murder in a fancy hotel might seem romantic to those far removed from any association.
“We’d like a table in the back, please.”
The server smiled and, taking four menus, led us to a corner table with an ocean view. She whipped out her notepad and quietly took our orders for juice and coffee.
My mind kept wandering from the present. The green carpet was just the shade of freshly mowed grass. The chairs reminded me of mangled limbs. The jam basket, which Ann rifled through in a search for the perfect strawberry spread, seemed to hide a perfectly gruesome violence.
The server brought some slabs of toast, and when Ann opened the pack, I swallowed. The jam perfectly matched the pool of blood after it had soaked thick and clotted into the ground.
“Jillian?” Nicole touched my hand with hers. “Are you all right?”
“I….” I shook my head. Instantly the jam turned back to jam again. “I am now.”
I tried to shrug off the memory as mere absence of thought. I couldn’t let it haunt me forever. “It’s just so strange the way I found her.”
Ann spoke up timidly as if she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. “How did you find her?”
“Mangled.” I swallowed. “She wasn’t wearing any jewelry, or a coat.”
“Sounds to me like someone pushed her.”
Of course, Dominique would come right to the point.
“I agree…except it would be difficult due to the small windows. A balcony perhaps?”
Ann chimed in. “Maybe she was leaning out, like to get some fresh air. Someone could have caught her by surprise.”
It seemed unlikely, at least last night. “Getting a breath of fresh air in the fog?”
Ann sat back in disappointment. “You’re right. It really was thick last night, wasn’t it?”
The server returned and took our orders and then left us alone.
Nicole continued with the speculations. “That business of her not wearing any jewelry is interesting, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” Dominique picked up the analysis. “And she wasn’t wearing a coat. Surely, if she was outside when she died she would be wearing one.”
I hushed my voice. “A lady only takes off her jewelry if she’s getting undressed.”
Nicole added, “Or, if she’s going to take a bath….”
A fresh thought struck me. “Or, if she was going to bed… and someone was in the room with her.”
The server brought our food, and we sat quietly for a moment contemplating the thought.
Deputy Cortez appeared in the doorway of the Conservatory and looked in. Seeing me, he came over to our table, smiled and said, “Ladies. The chief wants to have a talk with you, Mrs. Bradley.”
“I’ll come right away. Ladies, enjoy your morning.”
He showed me into the Fireside Room where the chief was waiting. When the chief greeted me, it was as a friend this time, which made me feel much more comfortable.
“No one’s in here now. Thought this would be a good place to talk.”
“Have you found out any more about Regina, Chief?”
“Only that it’s a mystery how she wound up on the courtyard in such a crumpled heap. Someone strong enough to carry her could have dumped her there or she may have fallen. There’s a balcony directly above where she was lying.”
“There’s a balcony next to my room. I noticed it the first day I was here. The room next door belongs to….” I hesitated.
“Yes?” The chief waited for me to finish.
“Only that I saw Paul Youngblood check into the room next door.”
“Paul Youngblood
.” He made an entry into his notebook.
“A very nice young man. He’s lecturing at our conference this weekend.”
“I see. I’ll check on it. Jillian, I need to ask you some questions.”
“It sounds like you don’t think it was an accident.”
“Personally? It looks like she was murdered. Officially? Without proof, all we can say is ’cause of death unknown.’ It won’t take long to get the lab reports and autopsy results back, so I’m proceeding as if it’s a homicide.”
“Are there many homicides in Half Moon Bay?”
“This will be the first in five years.” He shifted and readied the metal pencil again. “How well did you know the deceased?”
“Actually, I just met her. We had tea on Friday afternoon. I talked to her yesterday at breakfast. I talked with her awhile at the reception yesterday afternoon and then we all had dinner together at the Distillery last night.”
“Who is ‘we,’ Jillian?”
“There were twelve of us. I count everything, just a habit. Let’s see, there was Regina…Spencer Hausman, he’s the conference coordinator…my garden club…oh, their names are Ann Fieldman, Nicole King, and Dominique Summers…then Paul Youngblood, Celeste Osborne…Thomas and Evelyn Westover…Hugh Porter, Marianne Delacruz…and myself — twelve.”
His pencil moved quickly. Then he nodded with satisfaction. “Did any of these people have a reason to kill the deceased?”
“My goodness, what a question. Hmm…well, there were bad feelings between Regina and Spencer Hausman because she told me as much.”
“When was this?”
“It was at breakfast yesterday morning. Then, I found out from Paul Youngblood that he’d had a previous relationship with her. She acted uncomfortable when he came over to our table.”
“Anyone else?”
“I’m trying to think. Evelyn Westover was malicious whenever she talked to Regina, so there could be some kind of past there I think. At dinner, Regina and Celeste almost got into a fight and I had to change the subject. My goodness, maybe you should have asked me who she did get along with.”
“It will take me some time, but I’ll check these people out. I’ll put out a detainment for them not to leave town.”
“The conference is supposed to end tonight after the ball. I guess you will need more time than just today. Chief, what can I do to help? I’m free until three o’clock and then I’m reviewing Marianne Delacruz’s lecture on tree peonies.”
“Tree peonies?” He had a look of distaste on his face.
“Why don’t you come to the lecture? You could ask Spencer Hausman to make the arrangements. You know, see these people in action. Maybe learn something.”
“I like your imagination, Jillian. I need to check back with the medical examiner in about an hour and tie up some loose ends. I’ll talk to Spencer Hausman before I leave and set it up.”
“I’ll see what I can come up with. I’m always bumping into these people. Maybe I can find out more about what was bothering Evelyn.”
“Do you have a cell phone, Jillian?”
“I have one in my car.”
“Here’s my number. Save it in your speed dial. If you find out anything, I don’t care how small it is, you call me. The sooner we find out who killed her the safer everyone’s going to be.”
“Why wouldn’t we be safe now?”
“We have to be careful if someone did kill her. If we get too close they may kill again.” He stood, signaling the end of our conversation.
“I’ll get my phone out of the car.”
“Jillian, don’t take chances. We may be dealing with a very desperate killer. And as far as I’m concerned, I’m allowing you to be part of this investigation only as a bystander. Protocol, you understand.”
“Of course, Chief.” I nodded. “Still, if I happen to learn something important it will be my duty as a good citizen to report it.”
He just smiled.
CHAPTER NINE
I poured myself a cup of coffee. Spencer had invited everyone to meet in the Club Room for a staff meeting. Being the first to arrive, I picked a spot on one of the brocade sofas. Paul soon joined me looking rather distraught. His expression drooped, dark circles lined his eyes, and he was pale — as if he’d seen a ghost.
“Paul, I’m so very sorry. Regina was such a nice young woman.”
Without even looking up, he spoke. “They’d better get the swine that killed her.”
“You think she was murdered?”
He nodded. “She didn’t commit suicide. Tell me you don’t believe that.”
“No, I don’t.”
“She didn’t fall out of a window or off a balcony because she wasn’t drunk enough for that to happen. She wouldn’t have gotten plastered like that alone — she wasn’t that kind of drinker.”
“It doesn’t look like an accident.”
Spencer Hausman strode through the open double doors and immediately made his way over to me. He took my hand.
“Thank you for coming, Jillian.” He turned to Paul with a cold look. “This won’t take long. You won’t miss your lecture.”
Paul huffed. “I really don’t care what I miss.”
The Westovers arrived and sat down. Evelyn sat next to me. Thomas sat in a chair next to her. They held hands.
Hugh Porter followed them in, as well as Marianne Delacruz. Hugh brought over two chairs from a table for Marianne and himself.
When everyone was comfortable, Spencer began.
“Celeste isn’t here, but we have a lecture in just a few minutes, so I’ll begin.”
“I’m here.” Celeste made an entrance. “Now, what is all of this about?”
“For those of you who haven’t heard, there has been a terrible accident. Regina Anatolia was found dead this morning.”
Evelyn looked at Spencer with disbelief. “Dead? Regina’s dead?”
Spencer’s voice was barely audible. “Yes.”
In a sudden burst of emotion, he broke down. “Dead, Regina’s dead.”
He curled his hand into a fist to make an obvious effort to shake off his emotions so he could continue. “I know this is a terrible shock to us all. I’m asking you to consider the Society. Please do not to talk to anyone except the police about this matter. We must keep things on an even keel to get through this evening.”
Celeste looked at Paul tenderly. “Paul, I‘m so sorry. You were fond of her.”
Paul stood and left without a word.
He managed a great lecture, though, to my surprise as well as everyone else’s. Thomas caught him afterward, keeping me from approaching Paul with my questions. In disappointment, I moved to speak with Evelyn, but she wasn’t engaged in conversation, she was gone altogether. Perhaps she was attending another lecture.
Odd.
Especially when Thomas and Evelyn seemed to have made up and had been inseparable the other night.
Ann came into the Club Room as I was leaving. She motioned for me to come over. “Jillian, the police have blocked traffic anywhere near the room next to yours. It’s marked with yellow tape.”
Our mad dash to my room gave me visions of the wretched morning. Had they found something? Why did it always have to be so close?
“Ann, I just realized a few minutes ago…Evelyn wasn’t at the lecture.”
“I saw her leaving with Marianne.”
“We were ordered not to leave.”
“Surely it’s nothing. Maybe they didn’t know.”
“Ann, you had a chat with Evelyn yesterday. What did you talk about?” We stepped into the elevator and began our ascent.
Ann seemed out of breath, “Can we talk about this later?”
“Please? Just humor me.”
She sighed. “She told me about her son. That woman is hard to figure out. When she’s with other people and her husband, she’s outgoing and friendly. One on one is a different story. Jillian, I think she has deep problems.”
“Didn’t he die of a drug overdose?”
“Yes, I think that’s what I heard. She found him in his room after it happened.”
“I didn’t realize that.”
“It must have pushed her over the edge. She’s probably in denial. She told me she calmly picked up the phone in his room and dialed 911 and reported a death in her home.”
“She wasn’t hysterical or upset at all?”
“She said she felt very calm, like it was all over.”
“Like what was all over?” I was trying to imagine finding a child you loved dead.
“I don’t know. All she said was, at that point, she felt like she left her life with his body and stepped into a different person’s life altogether.”
Turning the corner to where my room was located, I stopped. There were some reporters trying to talk to the chief right outside my room door.
“Ann, go and get Nicole and Dominique. Tell them to listen for anything that might help us. Have them pay special attention to Spencer Hausman and Celeste Osborne. It would help if you would keep an eye on Evelyn and Thomas Westover. If Marianne is with Evelyn, watch her too. I’ll take Paul Youngblood and Hugh Porter.”
“All right. Do you want to meet for lunch somewhere other than here? We might be able to talk better.”
“How about meeting at the Distillery again? The food is good and we all know where it is.”
“Okay, see you. Good luck.”
“Thanks, I’ll need it.”
I straightened my shoulders. Pushing past the reporters took some doing. “Excuse me,” I said as politely as I knew how to the deputy, “I need to speak with Chief Viscuglia.”
A woman with a tape recorder turned to me and said rudely, “You and everybody else, lady.”
The chief caught my eye. “Excuse me, people. Jillian, step inside please. I’m sorry about that.”
“No apology necessary.” I moved through the threshold, and he shut the door behind me. “Looks like the sharks are hungry.”
“The media are always hungry.”
I looked around the room. “Do you think she fell from Paul Youngblood’s room?”
“Regina Anatolia’s room, you mean.”
“No, Chief, I saw Paul check into this room yesterday afternoon. He even used the phone — I heard him when the bellman was leaving.”