Agnes Lockwood Mysteries Collection

Chapter 7

The smell of food wafting from the kitchen as Agnes entered the Dining Room made her realise how hungry she was. She enjoyed her meal so much it was only now, as she ordered coffee and a liqueur, that she really noticed the other people in the dining room.

Everyone looked smartly turned out. No one was wearing jeans. But then, being fairly new on the scene, the hotel was rather up-market. There were a few of the diners wearing more elaborate outfits. Agnes assumed they were going somewhere else after dinner. She knew there were a number of theatres and concert halls in the city.

Though she wasn"t the only person sitting at a table set for one, she noted that most of the tables had at least two diners. There were even a few tables with six or more people enjoying dinner together. She suddenly felt conspicuous at being alone.

She heaved a sigh. Jim had been gone for almost a year. She should be getting used to it by now. And she was – normally. But there were times when she felt it would be nice to have someone with whom to have dinner now and then or even the occasional drink.

It was while she was sipping her coffee that she became aware of loud voices coming from somewhere in the corridors outside the dining room. Some of the guests sitting nearest to the door leaned back and forth, trying to see out into the reception area. But judging from the shaking of heads, Agnes guessed they couldn"t see who was doing all the talking.

As the voices grew louder, Agnes realised that they were the same people she had heard in the corridor outside her room. Until now, she had completely forgotten about the incident.

“I"m telling you that you have a thief on your staff! I suggest you start searching their belongings before someone leaves the building with my necklace.” There was no mistaking Angela"s high-pitched voice.

“Madam, I can assure you that we will speak to all the members of our staff. But I am certain no one working at this hotel stole your necklace.”

Agnes didn"t recognize the man"s voice, but she guessed he must be the manager. He sounded as though he was trying to stay calm, yet his tone told her he was becoming very exasperated with this particular guest.

“Don"t give me all that rubbish. I want the police informed this minute.” By now Angela was in full flow. Nothing was going to stop her from having her say. “I refuse to be fobbed off any longer! The necklace was a surprise gift from my husband. Tell him, George.”

“My dear, it…” George didn"t get any further as his wife continued her rant.

“If you don"t get on the phone right now, I will speak to your Head Office.”

“Very well, I will call the police,” the manager said. “Can we please go into my office while we sort this out? I have no wish to continue this discussion in the hotel reception.”

“Yes, a good idea, Mr Jenkins. Thank you. Come along my dear, the manager"s office is just across the hall. It will be more private. We can talk about it there. I"m sure we don"t need to involve the police.” George sounded as though he would like to be a thousand miles away.

“Very well. We shall go to your office, Mr Jenkins.” Angela retorted. “But, be aware, I have far from finished this conversation. And, George, what are you talking about? Of course the police must be called.”

There were a few more words spoken and then there was silence in reception.

Agnes glanced around the dining room as everyone resumed their own conversations. It had gone very quiet during the row in the reception area. It seemed she hadn"t been the only one eavesdropping.

After dinner, Agnes went through to the Drawing Room. She hadn"t wanted to go straight back to her room where she would be on her own. At least being here she was among lively people and, even if she wasn"t part of their group, their enthusiasm added a spark of life to her otherwise quiet world.

Agnes gazed around the room, taking in her surroundings. The hotel had been newly built during the renovation of the quayside. At first she thought that perhaps it might have been better if they had kept the façade of whatever had stood here previously and added a new interior. Some of the cafés and restaurants seemed to have done that. But maybe that wouldn"t have worked in this case. She recalled that the Court House, a short distance from the hotel, was also a brand new building.

Everything about the hotel was modern, including this room. The sofas were comfortable, the walls were decorated with expensive draperies and to top it all, there were large ornate mirrors reflecting different aspects of the room. But then she noticed a couple of the mirrors were placed at such an angle, areas of the reception and the entrance to the hotel could be seen from where she was sitting.

How creepy is that? she thought. If we, sitting in here can see who is entering the hotel, does that mean that anyone standing at the entrance can peer inside and see people sitting in here?

How creepy is that?If we, sitting in here can see who is entering the hotel, does that mean that anyone standing at the entrance can peer inside and see people sitting in here?Agnes deliberated as to whether to change her seat, but decided to stay where she was. Other guests in the Drawing Room might think she was crazy if she suddenly started moving from one sofa to another. Instead, she turned away from the mirror and began to think about what she might do the following day.

A trip to the shopping centre seemed a good idea. She simply adored shopping. But she also wanted to visit the places of her childhood in the hope she would meet someone from her past; though she did wonder if she would recognize anyone. Many years had passed since she had lived here. People changed as they grew older. For goodness sake, even she had changed over the years. She looked nothing like she did on her old school photos.

She glanced around at the people in the room. There could be people here whom she had met all those years ago, but couldn"t recognize now. What was she doing here? Why was she trying to rake up her past? There wasn"t anything she could identify herself with any more. It had seemed such a good idea at the time, but now she realised it was a big mistake – for more reasons than one…

She was just about to go back to her room, when she heard more raised voices in reception. It seemed the police had arrived. At least Angela would be happy now. Though for everyone else it could mean the hotel would be in turmoil while guests and their rooms were searched.

Instead of being upset at such disorder, Agnes hid a smile. It would be different from the usual mundane ritual she was becoming used to. It would be exciting to be considered a suspect in a police enquiry.

Of all the wonderful, crazy things she and her husband had done in the past, they had never been under suspicion of theft and had their room searched. She clapped her hands together. This was a first. How Jim would have loved it. Perhaps things were beginning to look up.