Peggy Dulle - Liza Wilcox 03 - Secrets at Sea (4 page)

“I really want to stay here.” I pointed outside. “It’s so quaint.”

His frown deepened. I didn’t think it was possible, but it did.

I put my hands on his chest, locked eyes with him and pleaded. “Please, Tom. Pamper me.” I gave him my biggest smile. “I’ll share my bed with you.”

He sighed, chuckled, and turned back to the clerk, “Fine, we’ll take it.”

“Wonderful.” She extended her hand.

Tom looked sideways at me, “I’m not paying for this dive. If you want me to pay, we’re moving to the nearest real hotel.”

I handed Brenda my credit card.

She pointed, “I’ve put you in Room 186. It’s our corner room and much larger than the others. There’s even a sitting area in it.”

“Thank you.”

“Enjoy your stay at the Nordic Inn.” She smiled, handed me back my card, and went back to her book.

“It’s nice to see people reading on their downtime,” I said as we walked back to the car.

“Maybe we can borrow it.” He grinned and his eyes glistened. I’d seen that look before and my body reacted with its typical spiked pulse and warmth.

I blushed and he laughed as he opened the back of the SUV.

He looked at the two huge suitcases. “Do we need all of these in the room?”

I picked up my overnight bag. “Nope, I only need this.”

“You could have told me to bring a small bag with clothes for tonight, Liza.”

“Sorry. You want to open up your big suitcase and take a few things out?” I pointed to my small bag. “I’ve got room in here for them.”

“Nah, I’ll bring in my big suitcase.”

“It’s a good thing we’ve got the biggest room in the place.”

He rolled his eyes. “I can’t wait to see it.”

I followed Tom to our room. When he opened the door, even I let out a little gasp. The clerk was right; it did have a small sitting area, with the smallest couch I’d ever seen. It matched nicely with the nine-inch television set on the side table.

Tom threw his suitcase on the couch; it covered it. And thankfully he didn’t make one single comment. “I’m exhausted from driving in LA traffic. I think I’ll take a nap,” he said.

“Maybe I’ll turn on the television and see what the weather is supposed to be tomorrow when we sail.”

He laughed. “Get a magnifying glass so you can see the screen.”

He opened the door to the bedroom. I heard him mumble, something, then go in and flop down on the bed. It sounded like he went all the way to the floor, but I ignored it and the spew of cussing that came from the bedroom.

I turned on the TV, but couldn’t get a news station, let alone a weather station. When I heard Tom’s slow and steady breathing, I took out the pictures. Would the clerk recognize them?

I might have gotten all the way to the lobby, but when I opened the door, a police cruiser pulled into the lot with its sirens blaring. Tom flew out of the bedroom, with his gun drawn.

Chapter 4

I slammed the door shut before he could go outside.

“Get out of my way, Liza.” He was in pure cop mode, fully awake and ready for action.

“You’re a cop in Gainesville, not Long Beach.” I stood my ground. We did not need to get involved in anything or we might not make our cruise tomorrow. He hesitated, but his face showed determination, so I added, “At least put the gun away. They don’t know you’re a cop, they might think you’re the bad guy.”

Tom frowned at me like that wasn’t even a possibility, but he put the gun in his back waistband and used his hand to signal to me. “Get back.”

I stepped aside.

He opened the door and started laughing.

“What?” I asked.

“Your three tourists are getting arrested.”

“For what?” I pushed him aside and peered out. The three women we’d seen earlier were being cuffed and put into the back of a patrol car.

“My guess, prostitution.” He chuckled, turned, and walked back toward the bedroom. “Wake me when you get hungry. I’ll buy you dinner.”

I heard the bed squeak again, more cussing, and then silence.

The door was already open, so I grabbed my pictures and walked toward the lobby.

Brenda stood by the front door watching the cops. I slid in next to her. “Some excitement, huh?”

“Not really, just Sherece, Deidre, and Charlene. They are hassled by the cops all the time.”

“Oh.”

She got behind the counter again and picked up her book.

I stepped up. “Can I ask you some questions?”

“Sure.” She set down the book. “What?”

“My mom and dad used to stay here every year.”

“They did?”

“Yes.” I held up the most recent picture of my parents.

Brenda shook her head. “I’ve only been working here a few months. You need to talk to Ramon. He’s been here for years.”

“The last time they were here was four years ago.”

“That’s okay, Ramon’s been here for ten years.”

“Great.” I put the picture back into the envelope. “Where is he?”

“Out by the pool.”

“Thanks. How will I recognize him?”

“He’s the only one out there.”

“Okay, thanks again.”

“How’s the room?” she asked.

“It will do.”

“How mad was your boyfriend?”

“He’ll live.”

“I like a woman who is in charge of her man.” She picked up her book.

I wouldn’t say I have any power over Tom, at all. Although he had agreed to stay at this dump, so maybe I had a little control.

A Latino man reclined on a lounge chair by the pool. The clerk was right, he was the only one there. The gate around the pool squeaked, but he didn’t even look up. He was asleep.

When I sat in the chair next to him, he opened his dark brown eyes and looked apprehensively at me, “Yes?”

“Brenda, from the front lobby, said I’d find you here.”

“Your toilet needs fixing?”

“No.”

He sat up. “Then it’s your shower.”

“No, the room’s fine.”

He chuckled, “None of these rooms are fine, lady. They’re just cheap.”

I took out the picture and handed it to him. “Do you recognize these people?”

He studied the picture for a moment. “Sure, isn’t this Joyce and William?”

I smiled. “Yes, they were my parents.”

He looked at me and then back to the picture. “I guess you look a little like your dad, maybe.”

“That’s what people say.”

“How are they doing? I haven’t seen them in several years. I guess they finally got tired of this dump.”

“No, they’re dead.”

He frowned, “Oh, I’m sorry. They were nice people.”

“Thanks,” I nodded, then continued, “they used to come here with a group of people.”

“Yes. Usually around ten of them, right?”

“Yes.”

“Sure, they’d get five rooms next to each other and run back and forth. They always looked like they were having a blast.”

I smiled, “It sounds like my mom and dad. Do their friends still come here?”

“Not for awhile. I think they were all here several years ago.”

“It was four years ago and the last cruise my parents took.”

“Yeah, that’s a summer I won’t easily forget.”

“Why?

“That’s the summer I walked in a room and found a dead body.”

“What?”

“Yeah, your parents were here then, too. Maybe that’s why none come anymore.”

“Who died?”

“I don’t know. She wasn’t a guest; she was a visitor. I never got her name.” He pointed to the lobby. “The people who own this place paid big bucks to keep it out of the papers. Dead bodies aren’t good for business.”

“I’m sure,” I pulled out the rest of the pictures. “Do you recognize these people?”

He flipped through them. “Sure, these are the people in your parents’ group. He pointed to one. “This is Carmelita Ringdon. She was always here, but with a different guy each time.”

“Anyone else you recognize?” I asked.

He scratched his head, “Let me think.” He flipped through the pictures, again. “Not really. I remember your parents because they always gave me a fifty-dollar tip when they left and Carmelita because she was such a…”

“Popular woman,” I finished his sentence.

“Yeah, that’s it. She was popular.” He handed me back the pictures, “Sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. I appreciate your taking a look at them.”

Ramon stood, “Well, I better go fix the toilet in 213 before the people start screaming again.”

“Thanks again, Ramon.”

“No problem,” he turned to leave, then stopped. “What’s your name?”

“Liza Wilcox.”

Ramon reached over and we shook hands. He smiled, “Any child of William and Joyce is a friend of mine. Anything you need, dial 33 for housekeeping.”

“Thanks.”

Ramon left and I flipped through the pictures again. I stopped at each photo with my parents in it. My eyes welled and a single tear fell on the picture. I wiped it with my thumb. No more crying!

I stood up. At least I had one name. It was a start. I put the pictures back into the envelope and walked back to the room. Tom was still asleep, so I took a long hot shower. It felt good to stand under the warm water and wash away the gloom I’d felt since talking to Ramon. I used one towel to dry my body and another on my hair. It was getting so long and almost impossible to manage. Tom liked my long wavy red hair, but someday I would surprise him and cut it all off.

I bundled my hair into a pony tail and dressed in shorts and a tank top. It was quite warm in Long Beach. Hopefully, the weather in Mexico would be nice and warm too.

When I came from the bathroom, Tom still slept soundly. I’d used all the towels for my shower and we’d need more for tomorrow morning. I could dial 33 and ask Ramon to bring me some more or I could just go and get them myself. I opted for walking back to the lobby.

I opened the door quietly and slipped back out. When I got to the lobby Brenda was gone and Ramon sat behind the counter.

“Hi, Liza.” He said as I came through the front door.

“Good afternoon, Ramon.”

“What can I do for you?”

“I need more towels.”

“No problem,” he dialed a number on the phone, asked for more towels to be brought to room 186 and then hung up.

I waved at him and started toward the door.

“Hey, wait a minute, Liza.”

I turned, “Yes.”

“One of the women in your parent’s group checked in a few minutes ago.”

“She did?”

“Yes. I wouldn’t have remembered her but after looking at the pictures with you, it reminded me.”

“What’s her name?”

“Betsy Ruiz.”

“Can you tell me what room she’s in?”

“Sure, but last time I saw her she was heading for the pool.”

“Great, thanks.” I opened the door and walked toward the pool. Was this the Betsy who was in the picture with my parents and Adam? And is it the same Adam who died during their cruise?

When I opened the fence to the pool area, she looked over. She wore a once piece black swimsuit. She was around forty with a petite body and short brown hair. I smiled at her. She smiled back.

I sat on the chair next to her. It was hard to contain my excitement. This woman knew my parents. She cruised with my parents.

“Hello, Liza,” she said.

My eyes widened, “How did you know me?”

“You look just like your dad and,” she laughed, “sometimes your mother had long red hair, too.”

I laughed. “She liked to change her hair style and color.”

“She sure did. It was always the first surprise of the trip. But besides that, your mother always showed us your new school picture every year. You haven’t changed much in the last four years.” She reached over and squeezed my arm. “I’m so sorry about your parents.”

“Thanks.”

“I didn’t hear about it until six months after it happened or I would have come to their service.”

I put my hand on hers, “It’s okay.”

“Are you taking their cruise?” she asked.

“Yes, I am.”

“That’s wonderful, you’ll have a great time.”

“Are you traveling by yourself?” It was the most subtle way I could think of to ask about Adam.

“Yes,” she nodded. “This is my first cruise since my husband died.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I told her. “Was he part of the cruising group, too?”

“No,” her eyes welled with tears.

“I’m sorry. Did he just pass away?”

“No, dear. It’s been almost four years. In fact, he died a few weeks before your parents. I haven’t cruised since, but this year I figured it was time to get back to something I used to love.”

How do you ask a woman how her husband died? There wasn’t any delicate way, so I blundered on. “How’d he die?”

“Adam ate something that disagreed with him and then he was allergic to the medication they gave him to settle his stomach.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” I kept repeating myself but I couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“That’s okay,” she smiled, “I stopped crying a few years ago.

“Was it his first cruise?”

“No, his second. We actually met on the cruise the year before.” She shrugged. “He died on our honeymoon cruise.”

Oh my. “I’m sorry,” I said again.

“It’s okay,” she patted my arm. “Adam and I met on the first cruise and then reconnected six months later. We fell in love, got married and went on the cruise for our honeymoon. We had four glorious days together.”

I didn’t want to repeat myself again, so I didn’t say anything.

“In fact, your parents knew Adam better than I did.”

“They did?” I asked.

“Yes. They knew each other many years ago. A place where they lived before.”

“Texas?”

“Yes. He lived there before he moved to Arizona.”

“I don’t remember much about Texas. We moved to California when I was three.”

She nodded.

“Ramon told me the last time my parents were here he found a dead body in a room.”

“Oh yeah, it was horrible. We didn’t get any sleep that night, with all the cops in the building.”

“Do you remember who it was?”

“No. We heard it was a visitor to one of the guests in the inn.” She leaned closer to me, “I think it was a prostitute.”

“She wasn’t visiting anybody in your group?”

“Oh, no,” she shook her head. “We were all pretty sedate. I remember Adam had gone out to get some more towels. I’d taken a shower after swimming in the pool and we needed more for the morning.”

“I took a shower earlier and had to get more towels, too.”

“They never give you enough.”

“So Adam went out to get towels,” I prodded.

“Yes, and I took a short nap. When he came back he said the police were going into a room at the other end of the inn.”

“Is that where Ramon found the woman?”

“Yes,” she nodded. “When we met for breakfast the next morning we vowed never stay in this hotel again.”

“Why?”

“A place that had dead bodies and prostitutes was not the place we wanted to spend the night.”

“But you came back.”

“I’m still sentimental about this place,” she shrugged and tried to smile.

“Who else was in the cruising group?”

“There was Carmelita. I always told your mom Carmelita was a professional escort, although, to her credit, she always chose men her own age. She had long bleached-blonde hair, boobs in a size triple-D, a teenager’s waist, and a new facelift each season.”