Agnes Lockwood Mysteries Collection

Chapter 16

The late night receptionist looked up as Agnes walked towards the lift. She would be going off duty shortly and a security officer would be taking over until morning.

“I hope you had a pleasant evening,” she said.

“Yes, I did, thank you,” Agnes replied, as she passed the desk.

The lift attendant smiled at Agnes as she approached. He was also about to go off duty, but he told her he would be happy to escort her to her floor.

Agnes smiled her thanks as she stepped into the lift.

But just as the doors were about to close the man, who she now knew to be called David Drummond, suddenly appeared from nowhere, and called out for them to wait for him.

Where the hell did he spring from? Agnes"s heart skipped a beat. Surely she or Alan would have seen him if he had been in the reception area. Now she was beginning to panic. Was it possible he had been waiting for her to appear? But if that was the case, how did he know she was out? Was he watching her every move?

She needed to get a grip; pull herself together or whatever it was they called it these days. There was no way she wanted David Drummond to know what floor she was on. She stepped back, allowing him to give his floor number first. But, like a gentleman, he gestured towards her.

“You were here first,” he said, giving her a brief smile, but it wasn"t a warm and friendly smile. It was cold and forced.

“Thank you. Tenth floor, please.” Agnes hoped the lift attendant wouldn"t remember that she had come down from the fourth floor earlier that evening. If he did, he didn"t say anything. He simply turned his attention to the man. “I believe you are on the eighth aren"t you?”

“Good memory.” Drummond mumbled.

Agnes could tell he didn"t look too happy with how things were panning out. If he had been planning to follow her to her room, then it had been thwarted.

At the eighth floor the lift stopped and the doors slid open. David Drummond left the lift, but he didn"t move away. He was still standing there when the doors closed.

“You"re on the fourth floor, aren"t you?” The lift attendant said, once the doors were tight shut.

“Yes,” said Agnes. “But I didn"t want him to know that.”

“I sort of picked that up.” He pressed the button for the tenth floor. “Best continue the charade. He could be hanging around down there; checking where the lift stops. Once we reach the tenth floor, I will take you back down to the fifth. You could take the stairs from there.”

“Good thinking. Thank you.” Agnes paused. “How did you know I was anxious about him?”

“I just picked up your vibes.” He shrugged. “I guess it comes with the job.”

By now they had reached the tenth floor. The lift stopped and the doors opened. A quick touch on the button sent the lift back down to the fifth floor.

Agnes smiled. “Thank you for your help,” she added as she stepped from the lift. She was about to open her purse to tip the young man, but he stopped her.

“No. I"m happy to be of help. Besides, it all adds a little mystery to my otherwise boring job.”

In her room Agnes poured herself a glass of wine from a complimentary bottle supplied by the hotel and sat down on a chair by the window. What on earth was going on? Who was this David Drummond and why was he so interested in her? Even in the lift, where she had been really close to him, she hadn"t recognised him as someone she had met before.

As she sipped her wine, she had thoughts of him touring the tenth floor tomorrow looking for her. Well, he would be unlucky. But how long would it take for him to realise he had been conned? At least she knew what floor his room was on. She had the lift attendant to thank for that.

Tomorrow, she would pass on this latest snippet of information to Alan and see what he made of it. She yawned. But now, it was time for bed.

Agnes had just dozed off when she heard some loud voices from the room next door. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was only two o"clock. It was probably someone arriving back from one of the many nightclubs in the city. They would most likely settle down in a few minutes.

But the voices didn"t stop. They grew louder. It seemed the woman had come back to find a piece of jewellery was missing. “Get on the phone to the manager,” she screeched.

Her husband sounded furious when Agnes heard him on the phone asking for the manager. “I don"t give a damn where he is. My wife has been robbed. Get him up here right now. And while you are about it, call the police!”

Agnes shivered, though she didn"t know why. It wasn"t her jewellery that had been stolen. She had taken it all with her when she went out last night. What she hadn"t worn, she"d carried in her handbag. Therefore no one had been prowling around in her room.

At that thought, she sat up quickly. Or had they? A burglar wouldn"t have known there was nothing in the room worth taking. She reached out and switched on the bedside light and looked around the room. Everything seemed to be as she left it when she went out last evening.

Still sitting in bed she drew her knees up to her chest and clasped her arms around them. It was becoming rather worrying to think that someone was able to gain access to the rooms while the guests were out enjoying themselves. It certainly wasn"t doing anything for the hotel"s reputation.

She heard a tap at the room next door. That would be Mr Jenkins, the manager. But before he could say a word, the man started shouting at him.

“What kind of hotel are you running here? We went out for the day only to come back to find my wife"s necklace has been stolen, not to mention two pairs of my gold cufflinks.” He paused for a second. “It"s an absolute disgrace. I hope you have called the police as I requested!”

“Yes, the police are on their way. Might I suggest we all sit down and talk this through quietly?”

The manager"s voice wasn"t quite as loud as that of the angry guest, but Agnes could still hear every word of what was being said.

“I can only apologize for what has happened. But I am sure the staff is not to blame.” Mr Jenkins continued.

“Who the hell else can get into the rooms? It has got to be a member of staff. Whoever is doing this must have a master keycard.”

“Please keep your voices down. People are trying to sleep.” Agnes heard the manager appealing to the guests to calm down. “I assure you none of the staff are to blame. The hotel checks out all applicants thoroughly before employing anyone.” Mr Jenkins paused when there was another tap on the door. “That will be the police.” He sounded rather relieved that someone else would have to deal with this man.

The shouting subsided once the police arrived and Agnes was unable to hear much more of what was being said. She lay back down and tried to go to sleep, but by now she was wide awake and her mind churned over everything she had heard.

So it seemed the couple next door was out all day yesterday. Probably having a lovely time taking in the sights and sounds of the city only to come back to find they had been robbed.

But if it wasn"t a member of staff, who could it be? A key card was needed to get into any of the rooms. The manager had told Alan that all the master keys were locked in the safe every morning once the rooms had been cleaned, bedding changed or whatever else needed to be done. Only he and his deputy manager knew the combination to the safe. Therefore it was impossible for anyone to retrieve the keys from the safe, unless it was the manager or his deputy. But why would they risk their jobs and their reputation simply to rob the guests at the place of their employment? It didn"t make sense.

Then there was the mysterious David Drummond. Where did he fit into the picture? Was he part of the robberies? Or could he be involved in the murder? And why was he taking such an avid interest in her? Agnes was still trying to puzzle it out when she fell into a deep and troubled sleep.