Read Online Beach Bags and Burglaries (A Haley Randolph Mystery) by Dorothy Howell - Free Book Online

I needed to talk to—which would have been a heck of a lot easier if I had a mocha Frappuccino available.
    I decided I’d start with Tabitha, the maid I’d seen in the hall outside my room earlier. She’d asked about Jaslyn and seemed to know her pretty well. I figured that Tabitha could probably give me some good info about what was going on in Jaslyn’s life or at least point me toward someone who could.
    My cell phone in my pocket vibrated. I checked the caller ID screen and saw Avery’s name. Oh my God, was she calling because that salesclerk had gotten a Sea Vixen into the shop already?
    My day could really use a boost.
    I leaped off of the bench and pushed the green button on my phone in one smooth, well-practiced motion.
    “Haley, could you meet me in the lobby?” Avery asked.
    This had to be about the Sea Vixen. There was no other reason for Avery to call me.
    Maybe she wanted to escort me to the shop herself. Maybe there was some sort of presentation planned.
    “Sure,” I said, already heading toward the hotel. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
    I hurried through the gardens to the hotel entrance and dashed up the stairs and into the lobby. Immediately, I spotted Avery standing by the staircase. I rushed over.
    “I’m sorry to disturb you,” she said.
    “No, it’s no problem,” I assured her, bouncing on my toes.
    “This can wait, if you’d rather,” she told me, and gestured down the corridor. “Are your friends expecting you for dinner? I don’t want to keep them waiting.”
    “They’re fine,” I told her, in my get-on-with-it voice.
    “All right, if you’re sure,” she said.
    Avery led the way toward the rear of the hotel and down the long corridor, past the room in which—ugh—the homicide detectives had interviewed me earlier. But instead of turning right toward the shops, Avery opened a small door on the left bearing a tiny sign that read E MPLOYEES O NLY and gestured me in ahead of her.
    Okay, this was weird.
    There was a short hallway in front of me that led to a room with a partially closed door. I glimpsed several people inside and heard the hum of their conversation.
    My weird feeling got weirder.
    A man stepped out of a small office off to my right. He was tall with square shoulders and a trim waist, dressed in a shirt and tie. He had a full head of gray hair, cut short. I guessed his age at fifty, maybe.
    “Miss Randolph, thank you for coming,” he said. “I’m Walt Pemberton, chief of security here at the Rowan Resort.”
    My really weird feeling got even weirder.
    “I’d like to speak with you about a telephone conversation I just had with an acquaintance of yours,” he said. “A homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department named Madison.”
    Oh, crap.

C HAPTER 7
    L APD’s Detective Madison had been trying for ages to find me guilty of somebody’s murder. He continually twisted evidence and circumstances around so that I looked guilty—in his mind, anyway. I’d never done anything wrong. Really. Well, okay, maybe a few things—but I sure as heck had never murdered anybody. It helped that Madison’s partner, Detective Shuman, had always been on my side. Most always—which wasn’t my fault, either. Okay, yeah, maybe it was.
    Anyway, Detective Madison didn’t like me, which was okay because I didn’t like him either, except that he had—and still could—make my life miserable. And now it looked as if he’d done it again by ratting me out to the head of security at the Rowan Resort.
    “Please, Miss Randolph, have a seat,” Walt Pemberton said, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk.
    He spoke as if we were old friends and he just wanted to have a nice chat and catch up on things. No way would I fall for that. I’d been questioned too many times by the police—none of which was my fault—to believe him.
    Then it hit me—oh my God, what if Detective Madison is here? In the next room? Waiting to come in and arrest me? Had Avery