Death Takes a Holiday (8 page)

Unfolding the paper,
Grace looked down at the list of names and room numbers in her hands. It was exactly the same as Dr. Foster’s list. Even down to the edge that was ripped off when he jerked the paper out of her hands that morning.

“Where did you get this?”

“It was lying outside my door.” She pressed a fancy crystal pitcher into Grace’s hands. “We need more ice.”

Grace jerked back her hand. A drop of blood ran down her finger.

Meredith looked at her in concern. “Are you all right?”

Grace pressed the cut on her finger. “Yeah, there’s a crack
in that pitcher.” Taking a napkin, she wrapped it around the cut.

Meredith snorted. “Nothing
but quality on the Crystal Palace Excursion Train.”

CHAPTER Six

Kyle reached out
and grabbed Grace’s hand, pulling her into the vestibule separating the lounge car from the dining car. She had been steadfastly ignoring him for the whole day and he had about all he could take. “Grace—”

“Yes, sir? Is there anything I can get you? Tea, coffee—”

He held her at arm’s length and looked at her new uniform. “What are you wearing?”

“Perhaps, you would enjoy an all-expenses paid trip down the side of the mountain. A sled will cost you, however.”

“This is ridiculous. They said all we have to do is pay for the ticket when we arrive at the resort. You don’t have to go to work for them.”

“Are you crazy? Do you have any idea how much a ticket costs?
” Grace almost passed out when Henry told her how much she would have to pay. Last year, she could have afforded it, but not now. “I’m not paying that—”

“I’ll pay.”

“Where are you going to get the money?”

His eyes lighting up with mischief,
Kyle smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll figure it out.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

“Trust me.”

“Hmm, some other time. I worked everything out with the conductor. It turns out they’re short-handed. One of the
attendants came down with the flu and another won a trip to Florida, so we agreed that I would fill in and they won’t charge me for the ticket.”

“Just like that.”

The rocking motion of the train intensified causing her to lean into him suddenly. He placed a hand under her arm to steady her. His hand and body radiated warmth in the small little room.

Reluctantly, she stepped away from him
and crossed her arms. “Just like that. Luckily, they were able to get hold of the Murphy’s who vouched that not only am I a good waitress, but I’m sane and you’re not.”

“I didn’t realize the Murphy’s were such good judges of character
, and after all that I did for them.” Kyle shook his head reproachfully. “Shame.”

“Well, perhaps, if you hadn’t
tried to convince their guests that the hotel was haunted, they would think differently about you.”

“But it was.”

“But did you have to run into the dining room during dinner service screaming that everyone was going to die if they didn’t get out right then?”

“Hey, if that had been a real ghost and not someone’s laundry hanging from the top of the poster bed
, you all would be thanking me right now. I’d be a hero.”

“I’ll have to remember that.”

“Still, you don’t have to work for the Crystal Palace.”

“They don’t have an extra
room for me on this train and I’m not going to pay full price, just so I can share a room with a stranger.”

“What stranger? You can stay with me and Steve.”

“That’s even worse. I’d rather sleep on top of the train than in the same room as Steve.” She shuddered, remembering the silk nighties that she had packed. Definitely not meant for Steve’s eyes. She could just imagine his reaction. She looked Kyle up and down. She could just imagine his reaction, too. Probably best she had secured other lodging for the night. Of course, she thought ruefully, that didn’t solve her nightwear problem. “I may need to borrow a t-shirt.”

“Where are you going to stay then?”

“I told you, I’m sharing a room with the other attendant, Meredith. We’re in the sleeping car at the end of the train.”

“Do you mean the woman who was glaring at
me and Steve while cutting up fruit?”

“
That’s her. I think we have a lot in common.” Grace looked through the door window separating the two cars. “Does Steve have any idea who left the death threat?”

“Well, he has one suspect in mind,” Kyle said carefully.

“Good. Who?”

“It’s not really worth mentioning.”

“Who?”

“I’m pretty sure he’s wrong.”

Grace rubbed her arms in attempt to bring some warmth back into her body. “Spit it out. Who does he suspect?”

“You,” he ad
mitted reluctantly. “I told him that he’s nuts. You wouldn’t hurt him.” He looked at her thoughtfully. “Right?”

“Me? No, I’m afraid I can’t take credit for this one.
Perhaps it has something to do with your case. I’m assuming that’s why we’re here, right?”

Kyle shook his head. “We’re not on a case.”

Grace looked at Kyle blankly. “Then why are you and Steve on this train? I didn’t realize you two were planning your vacations together.”

Kyle laughed. “We’re not. We’re here on business.”

“But not a case?”

“No,” he said slowly.

“Kyle, are we going to play twenty questions all night? What’s going on?”

“Oh, all right. I wanted it to be a surprise. Steve was invited to head the Crystal Palace’s New Year’s
Murder Mystery Extravaganza Event. It’s going to be great. That’s another reason I didn’t want to tell you. I figured you would enjoy being part of a
fake
murder investigation for a change.” He laughed. “I couldn’t wait to see your face, Grace.”

Grace felt her lips tugging up. She would have enjoyed it. Still, something was bothering her about the whole situation. “How long have you two been planning this?”

“Not long. Steve just got the invitation and the tickets a few days ago.”

“How did you and Steve put together
this murder mystery thing in just a few days? Doesn’t that take a long time to set up?”

“The detective
who was hired as a consultant quit at the last minute, so they offered the job to Steve. I was rather suspicious at first, but Steve assures me he checked it out. We’re just there to lend some legitimacy to the whole thing and then we can enjoy the rest of the week. Skiing, dancing,” he said as he grabbed her by the waist and twirled her around in the small little room, “or whatever.” He leaned into her suggestively.

She pushed against his chest. “Something isn’t right here.”

“Yes, I know,” he said patiently. “You’re not enjoying yourself.”

Grace
took a half step over to the door and looked through the glass window into the dining car. Steve was still sitting across from the same woman she had seen him with earlier. He was hanging on her every word. “Who is Steve talking to?”

“Sara
Turner. Steve and she have been virtually inseparable since they met this morning.”

“And you don’t find that a bit strange? Steve’s got all the charm of
a seventies swinger. We need to watch out for Steve. I think he may be in danger.”

“He said you were going to say that.”

She glanced back at the woman in blue. “What do we know about this woman? Who is she? What does she do?”

“I don’t know
,” Kyle said with amused affection. “She’s not the one I’m interested in.”

“Well, get interested in her.
Also ask Steve who the man in the pinstriped suit is, too.” She searched her memory for the man’s name. “Wellington. Asa Wellington. Steve seemed to recognize him when he walked into the lounge car.”

“Anything else?”

“Yeah, stay close to Steve. Someone threatened to kill him before the new year which means we have less than forty-eight hours to stop them. We need to know who’s on this train, why they’re here and who might want Steve dead.”

“For someone who doesn’t want to be a detective, you certainly ask a lot of questions.”

*

“Just be friendly
. Be nice,” Meredith said, distractedly filling up the sugar bowl with salt. Grace had tried to point out her mistake more than once, but Meredith was too nervous to listen.

Grace blamed herself. After all, Meredith
had only moved onto condiments after Grace hid what was left of the fruit. Still, she considered it a small victory that she at least stopped Meredith from adding vinegar to the mustard bottles.

“I will,” Grace replied
seriously.

“I wasn’t talking to you,
” Meredith said, pushing open the door leading to the Excursion’s kitchen.

Grace followed behind.
Like everything on the Excursion, it was exquisite. Every cabinet was made of rich chocolate mahogany wood. Cream-colored marble counter tops with dark flakes ran along the side of one wall while copper pans hung over a small island in the center of the galley. Stainless steel appliances were located at the back of the room and in one corner was a brown leather booth and table.

Meredith
walked to the small island. Hands shaking, she brought out a piece of paper and began reading.

“
How long have you worked on the Excursion, Meredith?”

“This is my first day.
”

Despite the fact
that Meredith didn’t seem to have a clue as to what she was doing, Grace still looked at her in surprised. “Your first day?” she repeated.

Meredith nodded. “
I was supposed to have help, but she didn’t show.” She looked over at Grace. “I’m glad you’re here. You know, if you hadn’t shown up when you did, I would have been stuck taking care of all of these people by myself. I’m going to give that temp agency a piece of my mind when we get back.” She crossed her arms. “You want to hear something funny?”

Surprised and somewhat doubtful that Meredith had a sense of humor, Grace nodded her head
, warily.

“I could have been a passenger.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, can you believe it? I could have been the one sitting out there being waited on hand and foot. Although, considering how mismanaged this whole affair is I don’t think I would have been pleased.”

On that Grace didn’t have any doubt. Meredith had done nothing but complain since they had been introduced. “So, what happened?”

“About a month ago, I was offered a ticket for this train and a week’s stay at the Crystal Palace

“Why didn’t you take it?”

“I hate cold weather and I’ve never been skiing. Besides, I would have had to pay taxes on this . .
. ,” she said bringing up her hands to make air quotes, “gift. Do you know how much a ticket on this death trap costs?”

“Unfortunately, yes. I thought highway robbery was illegal.”

“Then there’s the stay at the resort . . . ,” she said, throwing up her hands.

“There are other things
to do besides skiing. They have a spa, shops—you could get a massage.”

“A spa was not included in my trip. See, that’s how they get you. They give you a trip and expect you to spend your money on the spas, the overpriced restaurants, the little
knickknacks. It’s all just a gimmick to make you spend money.”

“Shocking. Yet, you’re on your way to the resort,” Grace pointed out carefully. “That’s rather coincidental.”

“Yeah, no kidding. The day’s been full of coincidences.” Biting her lip, she leaned forward conspiratorially. “To tell you the truth, I’m a bit scared to be here.”

Grace was about to ask why
, when Henry walked past and asked them to make sure each table had a bowl of mints.

Henry dashed off as soon as Meredith opened her mouth.
“Bowls?” She turned to Grace. “Why can’t we just leave a bag of mints on each table?”

Grace
looked under the counter and brought out ten small bags of mints. Ripping open the first bag, she poured the mints into one of the crystal candy dishes lined on the granite countertop. “What are you scared of?”

“Germs,” Meredith answered as though it was obvious. “
People will be sticking their dirty fingers in these bowls and touching all the mints.” She made a face.

“
That’s not what I was asking. Besides, they’re small dishes,” Grace said cheerfully. “Maybe the first person will eat them all and the others won’t have to worry about the horrible diseases they may catch.”

“That’s another thing, why are these dishes so small . . .”

Grace shook her head as Meredith droned on. “Why are you scared to be on this train?” she interrupted as she placed a silver spoon in each bowl.

Meredith closed her mouth for a second. She glanced back at the lounge car. “I don’t know,” she said quickly. “I just know I don’t feel comfortable being blindsided, is all.” She held up her hand when Grace attempted to question her further. “Look, I’m sorry I said anything. Just don’t mind me. I’m sure everything is fine.” Meredith
tore open one of the bags and dropped the mints into a bowl. She tossed the empty wrapper towards the trash, but missed.

Grace bent down, picked up the wrappe
r and dropped it into the trash can. A flash of gold caught her eye. Bending down, she pulled out a pair of bent gold-rimmed glasses with a missing lens. The same kind of glasses Doctor Foster was wearing earlier in the day. It just occurred to Grace that she hadn’t seen the man since he waved to her from the train. “What are these doing here?”