thing you stopped by the desk, Mr. Garfield. Thereâs been a small problem with your room.â
âWhat sort of problem?â
The clerk frowned at the screen. âI need to get the manager out here to talk with you. Excuse me a moment.â He picked up a phone and punched in a number. âMr. Garfieldâs at the desk. No, I donât think heâs been up there yet. Right.â He hung up the phone and turned to Noah. âSorry for the inconvenience, sir. The manager will be right out.â
Keely wondered if the delay, whatever was causing it, would make Noah more self-conscious about his request for a spare key. Apparently not, because he turned to her and shrugged.
âMr. Garfield.â A guy only slightly older than the desk clerk arrived and held out his hand over the counter. âIâm Martin Ames. Could we step down to the end of the counter for a moment? I need to inform you of our problem.â
âOkay.â Noah looked at Keely. âLetâs go see what this is all about.â
She hesitated. âAre you sure you want me toââ
âYeah.â He smiled and angled his head toward the end of the counter. âCome on.â
âAll right.â Congratulations, Noah , she thought as she followed him. From all appearances he was bringing a call girl up to his room, but he didnât seem to care whether the staff assumed that or not. His friends were a different story, of course, but his reluctance there was understandable.
Ames came out from behind the counter and glanced pointedly at Keely before returning his gaze to Noah.
To Noahâs credit, he made no effort to explain Keelyâs presence. âWhat seems to be the problem?â he asked.
The manager looked uncomfortable. âWeâre a new hotel, as Iâm sure you know, and in the rush to get it open on time, apparently the hiring process wasnâtâ¦what I mean to say is, the screening of applicants might not have been quite thorough enough. At least in the housekeeping department.â
âAnd you would be telling me all this becauseâ¦?â
âOne of the housekeepers vandalized your room.â
Keely gasped.
âWhat?â Noah stared at the manager in obvious disbelief.
âIt was a case of mistaken identity,â Ames said quickly. âThe womanâs in custody, and weâve learned from the police that sheâs mentally unbalanced. It seems she formed an imaginary attachment to one of our guests, and when her interest wasnât returned, she attempted revenge by damaging his room and its contents. That would be bad enough, but she became confused and hit your room by mistake.â
âWhat about my stuff?â Noah asked.
âIâm afraid itâs pretty well ruined. She took a knife to your clothes and suitcase and smashed your toiletries. The police took it for evidence, so Iâm not sure how soon you can retrieveit. But from what I saw, thereâs not much point in getting your things back.â
âMy God.â Noah shook his head.
âWe take full responsibility, of course,â Ames continued. âIf youâll give us an estimate of what you lost weâll write you a check immediately. And of course weâve moved you to a new room, and you wonât be billed for your stay. If you should choose to move to a different hotel, weâll pay for that.â
âNo, I wonât move. My friend is getting married here tomorrow night.â
âAh.â Ames nodded. He seemed to be avoiding looking at Keely. âThen let me take you back to the desk and issue you a new key.â
âTwo keys,â Noah said.
âOh.â The manager slid a glance over toward Keely. âOf course.â
Keely could see that the discussion was drawing to a close. She was outraged on Noahâs behalf. Her L.A. apartment had been vandalized once, and she knew the sick, violated feeling he was probably
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