Double Down (2 page)

When he looked away to introduce his partner, Brian Long, I pulled myself together. Detective Long looked like a detective, probably close to fifty, about my height, gray hair with a ruddy complexion and a potbelly hanging over his belt. He smiled and shook my hand. His blue gray eyes looked through you, reminding me of my father. Still holding my hand, he pulled me to the side so the men leading a covered gurney out of my office could get by.

Shocked I looked at Alan.

“
It’s Monica.”

“
My Monica?” Monica Smith, the Labor Relations Manager, had only worked for me for the last two months. When my old labor relations manager followed her Air Force husband to Germany, corporate asked me to take Monica. She worked at another property in St. Louis and needed to move to Las Vegas for personal reasons. When I interviewed her, she seemed well qualified with a clean record. I admit I had a hard time not letting her looks intimidate me. Monica had a fabulous figure, the kind every woman dreams of, tiny waist and hips, and large breasts. Combined with long blond hair and enormous blue eyes, it was hard not to hate her. However, being the self-assured, confident woman I am, I hired her anyway. Okay, I couldn‘t think of any good reason to deny her the transfer. Now Monica was dead.

Alan leaned in and whispered, “She was murdered here.”

“
Murdered? Here?” I knew I sounded like an echo, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around the words. When the gurney passed, I looked through the open door and saw blood on the carpet. It dawned on me then, when he said
here,
he meant my office. I must have blanched because suddenly Alan shoved a chair under me, and someone else offered me water. When Detective Long offered me a tissue, I realized there were tears running down my face. Surprised, I took the tissue and mopped my face. I’m not generally a crier.

Detective Delgado stayed leaned up against the desk, looking down at me. I met his gaze and asked, “How?”

He ignored my question. His partner took out a notebook and a pen. Assuming they wanted Monica’s personal information in order to notify her next of kin, I stood and turned toward my office.

Detective Delgado stopped me. “Where are you going?” he said gruffly.

“
To my office to pull Monica’s file. I keep all the HR employee files in my office. Isn’t that why you called me here?”

“
You can’t go in there. Your office is a crime scene.” He sounded slightly annoyed as if dealing with someone who wasn’t very bright.

Feeling stupid, I said, “Oh, of course,” and changed direction to walk around him to access Charlene’s computer. “Well, I can look up her address on the computer but it won’t tell me her next of kin.”

Frowning, he put his hand out to stop me, motioning for me to sit back down. “What time did you leave tonight?”

I remained standing. “About six. Chief Harris watched me lock up and walked me to the elevator.” Assuming that Alan had already told him this, I looked over at Alan. He’d moved away to stand against the wall. Arms folded and looking down, he didn’t say anything. I looked around for a trashcan to deposit the tissue Detective Long had given me, now a wadded up mess in my hand.

Detective Delgado pulled the can out from under Charlene’s desk. “Did you come back to the office for any reason?”

I dropped in the tissue. “Not until now.”

“
What did you do when you left here?”

“
I went home.”

“
What time did you arrive at home?”

“
About seven fifteen.”

He looked at his notes. “You live at 2346 E. Oakey?”

“
Yes.” I wondered why he had my address written down.

The crease between his eyes reappeared. “Why did it take you over an hour to get home?”

“
I stopped off at the cleaners.” I was starting to get pissed. Why were my movements important? Surely, he didn’t think I killed her.

Very slowly, punctuating every word, as if speaking to a child he said, “I need you to answer my questions in detail, please. What did you do when you got home?”

Angry now, I placed one hand on my hip and looked up at him. “I parked my car in the garage, walked to the bedroom, hung up my suits, and took off my clothes. I left my bra and panties on, in case you need to know that. I put on white shorts and a blue tee shirt, and then talked to my mother on the phone. I can give you her number because I’m sure you’ll want to verify the time. I took a frozen dinner from the refrigerator, walked to the microwave and when the timer beeped, I sat on the patio to eat it. Do you want to know what I ate for dinner?”

His lip curved up on one side as if stifling a smile. “Not at the moment. Can anyone other than your mother verify what time you got home?”

“
Why? Do you think she would lie about it?” When he didn’t answer, I sighed and went on. “Not unless one my neighbors looked out their window. I live alone.” I finally sat down with my arms folded in my lap, scowling at him.

“
Do you have any idea why Ms. Smith was here tonight?”

I relaxed a little. I’d expected these questions. “No. You would have to look at her calendar.”

“
Did she often have a reason to come back after hours?”

“
Yes, if she was conducting an investigation into an employee complaint or pending discipline, and needed to talk to someone who worked a later shift.”

“
Would she do that in your office?”

“
No. Normally she would speak to them somewhere near their work station.”

“
Can you think of any reason why she would be in your office?”

“
No.” I frowned. Now that he mentioned it, I realized how strange that was. She shouldn’t have been able to get in my office. “I keep it locked and she didn’t have a key. Only security, Charlene Larsen, who is my secretary, and I have keys.”

Two guys came out of my office stripping off rubber gloves. “We’re through for now. It’s all yours.”

Detective Delgado said, “Thanks. Ms. Peterson, I’d like you to take a look and see if you can tell if anything’s missing.”

A wave of odor assailed me as I walked in the door. Although I’d never smelled death before, this was more than just the smell of blood, coppery yet rancid, and something else I chose not to identify. My stomach roiled. Trying not to breathe, I concentrated on details to keep the queasiness under control.

The contents of my inbox and glass from broken picture frames lay strewn in front of the desk. One of the chairs that usually sat against the wall had been overturned on top of the mess. The other was shoved in the corner. A large puddle of blood congealed on the carpet. Blood and what looked to me like brain matter spattered the top and side of my computer, as well as the wall behind it. I couldn’t help picturing how she must have fallen and hit her head on the edge of the desk. I quickly looked away, and resisted the urge to vomit by sucking air through my teeth.

My chair sat against the back wall. The middle desk drawer with pencils and pens stood open, but the deeper side drawers remained locked. I handed my keys to a gloved police officer, who unlocked the right hand drawer.

“
I don’t see anything missing. All the files look undisturbed. That’s her file.” I pointed to the one with Monica’s name on it. When the police officer took it from the drawer and gave it to Delgado, I bolted from the office. I kept my eyes averted from the puddle of blood. Leaning against Charlene’s desk, several deep breaths failed to clear the smell or settle my stomach.

Detective Long who followed me out asked, “Are you all right?”

I nodded.

“
Would you print out a list of the names and addresses of all the HR staff for me?”

Since they already had my address, he was probably just giving me something to do. Still, I was grateful for the distraction.

Detective Delgado came out and said, “You can go, but I don’t want you talking to anyone about this.”

“
What about my staff? I’ll need to notify them.”

“
No. I want to interview them as they come to work. I’d rather they didn’t know until then.”

Alan said, “I’ve arranged for an area in security for the police interviews and I notified Tony.”

Tony Augustino was our general manager and our boss. It didn’t surprise me that Tony wasn’t there. While he insisted on being kept informed, he trusted his executives to be able to do their jobs while he did his. He would be on the phone notifying the corporate office we’d had a murder. Fortunately, the HR office was located as far away from any guest areas as possible. Even if the guests had noticed the cop cars, they may not have realized it had happened on hotel property.

It was almost two a.m. when Alan walked me out to the elevator once again. I asked him the questions the detective refused to answer. “When did this happen?”

“
Security called me at ten saying they found Monica lying on the floor of your office when they let in the night cleaners. The door to your office was open and the lights were on. I got here before the police arrived. It looked to me like she fell, hitting her head on the side of your desk. Those were the only injuries that I could see from the doorway. However, once the coroner examined her, I heard him tell the detectives that from the force of the blow, it couldn’t have been an accident. Someone pushed her.”

Chapter Two

I drove home and crawled into bed for a few hours of sleep, hoping I wouldn’t have nightmares. They weren’t nightmares exactly, just vague images of blood dripping. I slept fitfully, and woke groggy and out of sorts after only a few hours. Normally, I select one of my power suits to attend a corporate meeting. However, since my best power suit was red and that reminded me of all the blood the night before, I settled for the navy suit with a gold silk shell. It had the advantage of a short skirt with a slit up the side, just in case I met up with the handsome detective again. I don’t do cleavage. Even if I had any, it wouldn’t be appropriate for the work place. In addition, at a casino, with all the competition from half-naked, enhanced, pushed-up cocktail waitresses roaming the property in skimpy costumes, it’s pointless. I shook my head. Talk about vain, here I was thinking about what I looked like when one of my employees had just been murdered.

I coaxed my shoulder-length blond locks into a French twist, and slapped on a minimum of makeup. Great, glancing at my watch, I noticed I was already running late. If they hadn’t canceled the corporate meeting, it was due to start at nine. I’d wanted to get to the office by eight to meet up with my staff, and get an update on the investigation from Alan. We’d posted “closed” notices on the doors last night, directing everyone to report to Security, so that was my first stop.

Unlike HR, the security offices have to be close to the action, while still remaining out of sight. I parked in the garage and walked through the casino. Even at this early hour, bleary-eyed patrons sat on stools in front of slot machines and repeatedly punched the buttons. I waved to a few of the regulars, usually late shift employees from other hotels who came to play awhile before going home to bed. I ducked into an inconspicuous door, walked down a dim hallway and took the stairs to the basement to get to Alan’s office.

Alan looked like he had been there all night. His eyes were red. He kept running his hand over his face. It looked like he’d gone home at some point to shower and change, because he had on different clothes, and he had a tiny piece of tissue stuck to his face where he must have nicked himself shaving. He told me, “Corporate decided to postpone the meeting, but Tony’s expecting us to brief our property executives at nine.”

Most of my staff sat outside the security conference room the police were using. We all hugged. I reassured them that the company would pay them whatever hours they missed, due to the closing of the office. The clerks only made a little over minimum wage. The loss of even a few hours of pay could be devastating. Everyone looked a little apprehensive about talking to the police. They fidgeted, looked around, and talked in whispers, but no tears. From what I could see, no one seemed unduly upset about the death of Monica. Charlene sat talking to the others. I drew her aside.

Frowning she said, “Why didn’t you call me last night? The police called me early this morning to ask about my key to your office.”

“
I’m sorry. They wouldn’t let me call anyone.” Once she indicated she forgave me, I said quietly, “I expected everyone to be in tears. I know Monica wasn’t here long, but surely someone felt close to her.”

Charlene rolled her eyes. “Most of them hated her.”

That shocked me, definitely not what I wanted to hear. “Why? How come I didn’t know?”

“
Sweetie, you’ve been up to your ears in union negotiations for the last month. It’s only these last few weeks that she let the claws out.”

Before I could ask her any more questions, the door to the conference room opened. Detective Delgado came out looking even better than the night before. Still dressed in the same suit, he sported a darker five o’clock shadow. However, nothing about him suggested tired. He didn’t look the least bit rumpled. Minus his jacket, the baby blue shirt he’d worn underneath looked freshly laundered. Instead of buttons, his cuffs sported monogrammed gold cuff links. Charlene caught me staring at him, and poked me in the ribs a second before he looked in my direction.