Carlton would have commented on her vocabulary, if he had been paying attention enough to hear her. He was deep in thought. "Hmm? What's that?" he said absent-mindedly, as they approached the reception desk.
"It's an amazing place!" repeated River, slightly louder. It was true. The Fitzroy Hotel was the most expensive hotel in London, generally hired solely by celebrities, foreign diplomats and royalty.
"Food's great, too," Carlton commented, and River looked at him in surprise.
"You've stayed here?"
"Once or twice, mainly for dinners. Don't give me that look," he complained, off River's amazed glance. "I just know a few people, that's all."
River was saved from having to comment by the arrival of the manager. In this calm and collected hotel, she looked out of place: her hair messy, her name badge askew.
"Detective Inspector Carlton?" she asked, and, at Carlton's nod, "We've been expecting you. This way, please."
Carlton and River followed her up the stairs and into one of the rooms on the first floor. In the sitting room of the suite, two maids and a bellboy were waiting nervously, the boy fidgeting with his too-tight gloves.
"What's the problem?" asked Carlton, as soon as the door had closed.
The manager nodded to one of the maids. "Susanna," was all she said.
The petite blonde girl stood up. "Oh, sir, it's terrible. I came in here this morning to clean the room, and I found the lady on the bed! It's so awful, sir - someone had... killed her!" she collapsed into tears. "Stabbed terrible, she was sir. Lots of blood."
River put a comforting hand on the girl's arm. "And what did you do then, Susanna?" she asked kindly.
"I screamed, and fainted. The next thing I knew, Alison and Paul were here." she gestured to the maid and bellboy. "They said someone had gone for the police."
"Did you move anything?" asked Carlton.
"No, sir. I didn't want to touch anything, case you people had thought I'd done it."
Whilst River comforted Susanna, Carlton headed into the bedroom to look around. A blonde woman lay face-down on the bed, from her position she might have been sleeping. But as Carlton raised up the body, he noticed a sharp knife dug deep into her designer dress.
Carefully, he pulled it out and examined it. It was an ordinary dinner knife, all right, probably what they used here in the dining rooms. Placing it in a plastic evidence bag, he continued with the search. However, other than the extreme messiness of the room - a pair of white gloves flung under the bed, clothes strewn all over the floor - the search yielded little.
After returning to the other room, he went straight up to the manager. "I'm glad to be able to make an arrest without resorting to searching the premises or the clients," he said confidently.
Answer (highlight to read): It must have been Susanna. How did she know that the body had been stabbed? She claimed that she hadn't touched it.
that was quite easy but i liked the story =)
ReplyDelete