Read Online Murder at the Miramar (Augusta Burnette Series) by Dane McCaslin - Free Book Online
Authors: Dane McCaslin
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surrounded by a hushed crowd of kitchen staff, Maria at the front.
‘Ellie!’ I exclaimed, breaking the near-reverential silence. ‘What in heaven’s name are you doing?’
All heads swiveled in my direction, eyes wide as though I had just sprouted a pair of horns and a tail. Ellie kept her head down, flipping cards and muttering to herself. She acted as though she hadn’t heard me. Irritation bubbled up inside me; I didn’t need to lose my newly landed job over something like this. I marched over to where she stood, stopping just short of sweeping the entire mess onto the polished floor.
Ellie still didn’t look up, but instead raised one hand in a ‘Stop’ sign. I did as instructed. I really do hate confrontations.
Hesitating just a moment, I leant forward and hissed just loud enough for her to hear me, ‘Ellie! Whatever it is you think you’re doing, stop it right now! Number one, you’re going to get me fired. And number two, we don’t even know if Miguel was murdered or not. Pack it up and let’s get out of here.’
I’d gotten her attention. ‘AJ, would you just chill? I’m almost done and I think I know what happened. Besides, I promised Maria that I’d help.’ With that she continued flipping the cards, finally stopping with a loud, ‘Aha!’
I shook my head, half-disgusted at her theatrics. Only Ellie could make card reading seem like a Broadway show.
‘What do you see, Miss?’ Maria eagerly questioned Ellie as the rest of the folks surged forward to see how the cards were laid out. In spite of myself, I moved closer as well, taking a look at the various figures galloping, hanging, and grinning on the cards’ surfaces. I could make neither head nor tail of them, and frankly, I had no wish to. It was nothing but a lot of mumbo-jumbo to me, but Ellie seemed to believe in the messages she claimed to get. As long as she wasn’t making promises she couldn’t deliver, I supposed it was OK.
A sudden flurry of action dropped me back into the present. The kitchen staff had vanished as if by magic, and I half-expected Ellie to have disappeared as well. Footsteps behind me caused me to turn, and I saw Emmy standing just inside the doorway, her face set, shoulders held stiffly. Something had her knickers in a twist, and I crossed my fingers that it wasn’t Ellie. Or me, for that matter. I had no desire to go back home with my tail between my legs.
‘AJ, you’re up early.’ Emmy Ruiz walked into the kitchen, her expression already harried despite the early hour. ‘Detective Baird has called and tells me that he will be here around two to speak with you.”
‘With me?’ I all but squeaked. ‘What in the world does he want with me?’
‘For that, you will need to see the detective,’ Emmy said with a small smile.
I relaxed. She was just anxious over the on-going investigation, not mad at me. I gave a half-glance over my shoulder and saw that Ellie had evaporated as well, and that was probably a good thing. I wasn’t sure how I’d explain her to Emmy anyway, and I certainly couldn’t imagine justifying a card reading in the resort’s kitchen. I looked back at Emmy, who was staring at me with an unreadable expression that instantly vanished when our eyes met.
‘Let’s get something to eat before our day starts and the handsome detective comes calling, shall we?’ Emmy turned toward the door, stopping to see if I was following.
We made our way to the Palmetto Room, its tables beginning to fill with early-morning risers. Large coffee urns shone at each end of a long serving table, bracketing platters of croissants, fruit, and pastries, alongside steaming dishes of scrambled eggs and bacon. In spite of the fact that I’d already eaten that morning, my stomach began its familiar refrain. I really needed to get that under control pronto, otherwise I’d soon be rolling around the Miramar like an unwieldy beach ball.
That particular thought didn’t stop me from filling a plate with
‘Ellie!’ I exclaimed, breaking the near-reverential silence. ‘What in heaven’s name are you doing?’
All heads swiveled in my direction, eyes wide as though I had just sprouted a pair of horns and a tail. Ellie kept her head down, flipping cards and muttering to herself. She acted as though she hadn’t heard me. Irritation bubbled up inside me; I didn’t need to lose my newly landed job over something like this. I marched over to where she stood, stopping just short of sweeping the entire mess onto the polished floor.
Ellie still didn’t look up, but instead raised one hand in a ‘Stop’ sign. I did as instructed. I really do hate confrontations.
Hesitating just a moment, I leant forward and hissed just loud enough for her to hear me, ‘Ellie! Whatever it is you think you’re doing, stop it right now! Number one, you’re going to get me fired. And number two, we don’t even know if Miguel was murdered or not. Pack it up and let’s get out of here.’
I’d gotten her attention. ‘AJ, would you just chill? I’m almost done and I think I know what happened. Besides, I promised Maria that I’d help.’ With that she continued flipping the cards, finally stopping with a loud, ‘Aha!’
I shook my head, half-disgusted at her theatrics. Only Ellie could make card reading seem like a Broadway show.
‘What do you see, Miss?’ Maria eagerly questioned Ellie as the rest of the folks surged forward to see how the cards were laid out. In spite of myself, I moved closer as well, taking a look at the various figures galloping, hanging, and grinning on the cards’ surfaces. I could make neither head nor tail of them, and frankly, I had no wish to. It was nothing but a lot of mumbo-jumbo to me, but Ellie seemed to believe in the messages she claimed to get. As long as she wasn’t making promises she couldn’t deliver, I supposed it was OK.
A sudden flurry of action dropped me back into the present. The kitchen staff had vanished as if by magic, and I half-expected Ellie to have disappeared as well. Footsteps behind me caused me to turn, and I saw Emmy standing just inside the doorway, her face set, shoulders held stiffly. Something had her knickers in a twist, and I crossed my fingers that it wasn’t Ellie. Or me, for that matter. I had no desire to go back home with my tail between my legs.
‘AJ, you’re up early.’ Emmy Ruiz walked into the kitchen, her expression already harried despite the early hour. ‘Detective Baird has called and tells me that he will be here around two to speak with you.”
‘With me?’ I all but squeaked. ‘What in the world does he want with me?’
‘For that, you will need to see the detective,’ Emmy said with a small smile.
I relaxed. She was just anxious over the on-going investigation, not mad at me. I gave a half-glance over my shoulder and saw that Ellie had evaporated as well, and that was probably a good thing. I wasn’t sure how I’d explain her to Emmy anyway, and I certainly couldn’t imagine justifying a card reading in the resort’s kitchen. I looked back at Emmy, who was staring at me with an unreadable expression that instantly vanished when our eyes met.
‘Let’s get something to eat before our day starts and the handsome detective comes calling, shall we?’ Emmy turned toward the door, stopping to see if I was following.
We made our way to the Palmetto Room, its tables beginning to fill with early-morning risers. Large coffee urns shone at each end of a long serving table, bracketing platters of croissants, fruit, and pastries, alongside steaming dishes of scrambled eggs and bacon. In spite of the fact that I’d already eaten that morning, my stomach began its familiar refrain. I really needed to get that under control pronto, otherwise I’d soon be rolling around the Miramar like an unwieldy beach ball.
That particular thought didn’t stop me from filling a plate with
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