Read Online Model Suspect 3 by Carolyn Keene - Free Book Online

remember?”
    I hurried toward them. “Excuse me,” I said with a friendly smile. “So you two helped with the cleanup after the vandalism, huh? I guess you must have gotten a good look at that message someone wrote on the wall in there, right?”
    The two employees went silent, trading a cautiousglance and then shrugging in unison. “We’re sorry for this unpleasant moment in your Oro Beach Resort experience,” the second maid said, sounding like some kind of recording. “We hope it won’t mar your enjoyment of our beautiful island.”
    “Okay,” I said. “But listen, I’d really like to know exactly what you guys saw before the cleanup. If you could just describe it in your own words …”
    “I’m afraid we have to be getting back to work now,” the employee said in that same robot-cruise-director voice. “If you have questions about your Oro Beach experience, feel free to visit our guest courtesy center in the main tiki hut.”
    “I don’t want to visit the courtesy center,” I said, doing my best not to sound as impatient as I felt. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Bess and George trading amused glances. “I just want to hear what you two saw. If you’re worried about marring my enjoyment or whatever, don’t be. Sydney already showed me a picture of that ransacked cabin.” I smiled hopefully. “Plus I won’t tell your boss you said a word, I swear.”
    “It’s not that.” This time it was the first maid who spoke. She shot a look at her coworker, who looked worried. “I mean, yeah, the resort doesn’t like us talking to the guests about stuff like that, I guess.” She shrugged. “Not that we’ve ever had stuff like that happen before …”
    “It’s that director woman,” the other maid burst out. “She made us sign something.”
    “You mean Madge?” George spoke up, sounding interested. “What, you mean like a film release?”
    “Well, that, too.” The first maid shrugged again. “But also this thing about not talking to people. Basically we’re under orders not to say anything to anyone about anything that happens while filming is going on.”
    “Right.” The second maid tugged at her friend’s sleeve, shooting a nervous glance around the beach. “Now we really do have to get back to work. Excuse us, please.”
    They hurried off without a backward glance. “Wow,” Bess said. “That’s interesting, huh?”
    “Not really.” George fell into step beside me as I wandered down the beach after the maids. “It’s probably standard operating procedure for this sort of production. A way to guarantee that spoilers don’t leak out before the show airs, stuff like that. I’ll have to ask my mom, but I’d be willing to guess that she had to sign something similar when she was catering some of those events before the wedding.”
    “That makes sense.” Bess nodded. “Besides, Madge just accused the three of us of being behind all the trouble. That seems to let her off as a suspect herself, right?”
    “Not necessarily,” I said. “I’m really not sure what to make of Madge, actually. But guilty or not, one thing’s for sure. She’s definitely making our job harder. How are we supposed to investigate when the entire resort staff is under orders not to talk to anyone?”
    “Maybe we should go talk to the people at the med hut again,” George said as we climbed a few wooden steps leading from the beach up to the main section of the resort. “They were willing to talk. Although I kind of got the impression that they don’t leave the med hut much. They kept complaining about it, actually—”
    “Hey, do you hear that?” Bess broke in, casting a glance off to the right.
    “Hear what?” But even as I said it, I heard the sound of shouts and shrieks from somewhere over that way.
    George glanced at the rustic wooden signs that marked an intersection of paths just ahead. “Must be coming from the main pool,” she said. “Should we go check it out? We