Read Online The Lady Who Cried Murder (A Mac Faraday Mystery) by Lauren Carr - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lauren Carr
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immediately ended their friendship. While Khloe went off to Hollywood, Lily attended two more years of graduate school at West Virginia University. After receiving her master’s in business administration, she went to work at the Spencer Inn. In a year, she had worked up to assistant manager in the resort’s event planning department. It was her job to coordinate between guests and clients for special events, like wedding receptions and conferences, which took place at the Spencer Inn resort.
Lily was coming out of a staff meeting with the inn’s manager when Mac nabbed her before she had a chance to go back to her office with a stack of folders. She looked as simply pretty as she had three years before. When she saw Mac, her face beamed. “Hello, Mr. Faraday.”
Upon hearing Mac’s name, Jeff Ingles, the inn’s manager, rushed out. He tried to be nonchalant about looking toward the floor for any sign of Gnarly, the bane of his existence at the resort. When Mac directed his attention toward Lily, the rest of the hotel management team moved on to their respective jobs.
“Do you have a couple of minutes?” Mac invited her to join him in the lounge for a drink.
“What’s this about?” Her expression was one of confusion.
“Khloe Everest.”
Lily stood rooted in her tracks. “Khloe and I aren’t friends anymore.”
“Considering how she was murdered, I don’t think it’s a friend we’re looking for.”
Lily’s mouth dropped open.
Seeing that this was not hotel business, Jeff Ingles turned and went in the opposite direction toward his office.
“Would you like me to buy you a drink?” Mac offered.
“Depends,” she replied.
“On what?”
“Are you going to arrest me?” she asked.
“Depends,” he replied.
“On what?”
“Did you kill her?” Mac asked her.
“Would you believe me if I told you no?”
“You haven’t lied to me yet.”
He led the way to the inn’s lounge where Lily ordered a root beer float after Mac had told her to order anything she wanted. He ordered a Brandy Manhattan. After some small talk in the corner booth, Mac eased his way into his interview with her. “When was the last time you saw Khloe?”
She seemed to think for a short time before answering. “Last week. She and her friends had been coming in fairly regularly since she came back. I knew her mother had disinherited her. I stayed tight with Florence after what Khloe had pulled. I was surprised by how furious she was, but do you blame her?”
“No, not at all,” Mac said. “Thinking someone is hurting your child is the worst thing that a parent can go through. To find out that it’s a joke…” His voice trailed off when he saw a flicker of something in Lily’s eyes. I wonder if she’s talking about something else.
“You mentioned her friends,” Mac said.
“Khloe was coming in with a guy,” Lily said. “She had introduced him to me. His name was Nick, but I don’t know anything about him. I’ll admit, she and I had words after she started showing up here.”
“What about?”
“She was putting her stuff on her mom’s account,” she said. “She expected Florence’s estate to pay for it. So, I told Jeff. Next time she came in, Jeff went to her table and told her that they had to pay cash or put it on a credit card—no hotel credit. Well, without any hesitation, the guy she was with pulled out a credit card. Only the name on it was some woman—Sheila. Now he didn’t look like any Sheila. So Jeff told me to check into it. Sure enough, the card was legit and not reported stolen. So we let them use it—and man! They did. They were doing the spa, happy hour, dinner—everything.”
“Did you get the last name on that card?” Mac asked.
“I have it written down in my office,” she said. “But anyway, after Jeff cut them off, Khloe came to my office and called me all types of names. She said I was jealous because she didn’t take me to Hollywood and make me a star. ‘Really?
Lily was coming out of a staff meeting with the inn’s manager when Mac nabbed her before she had a chance to go back to her office with a stack of folders. She looked as simply pretty as she had three years before. When she saw Mac, her face beamed. “Hello, Mr. Faraday.”
Upon hearing Mac’s name, Jeff Ingles, the inn’s manager, rushed out. He tried to be nonchalant about looking toward the floor for any sign of Gnarly, the bane of his existence at the resort. When Mac directed his attention toward Lily, the rest of the hotel management team moved on to their respective jobs.
“Do you have a couple of minutes?” Mac invited her to join him in the lounge for a drink.
“What’s this about?” Her expression was one of confusion.
“Khloe Everest.”
Lily stood rooted in her tracks. “Khloe and I aren’t friends anymore.”
“Considering how she was murdered, I don’t think it’s a friend we’re looking for.”
Lily’s mouth dropped open.
Seeing that this was not hotel business, Jeff Ingles turned and went in the opposite direction toward his office.
“Would you like me to buy you a drink?” Mac offered.
“Depends,” she replied.
“On what?”
“Are you going to arrest me?” she asked.
“Depends,” he replied.
“On what?”
“Did you kill her?” Mac asked her.
“Would you believe me if I told you no?”
“You haven’t lied to me yet.”
He led the way to the inn’s lounge where Lily ordered a root beer float after Mac had told her to order anything she wanted. He ordered a Brandy Manhattan. After some small talk in the corner booth, Mac eased his way into his interview with her. “When was the last time you saw Khloe?”
She seemed to think for a short time before answering. “Last week. She and her friends had been coming in fairly regularly since she came back. I knew her mother had disinherited her. I stayed tight with Florence after what Khloe had pulled. I was surprised by how furious she was, but do you blame her?”
“No, not at all,” Mac said. “Thinking someone is hurting your child is the worst thing that a parent can go through. To find out that it’s a joke…” His voice trailed off when he saw a flicker of something in Lily’s eyes. I wonder if she’s talking about something else.
“You mentioned her friends,” Mac said.
“Khloe was coming in with a guy,” Lily said. “She had introduced him to me. His name was Nick, but I don’t know anything about him. I’ll admit, she and I had words after she started showing up here.”
“What about?”
“She was putting her stuff on her mom’s account,” she said. “She expected Florence’s estate to pay for it. So, I told Jeff. Next time she came in, Jeff went to her table and told her that they had to pay cash or put it on a credit card—no hotel credit. Well, without any hesitation, the guy she was with pulled out a credit card. Only the name on it was some woman—Sheila. Now he didn’t look like any Sheila. So Jeff told me to check into it. Sure enough, the card was legit and not reported stolen. So we let them use it—and man! They did. They were doing the spa, happy hour, dinner—everything.”
“Did you get the last name on that card?” Mac asked.
“I have it written down in my office,” she said. “But anyway, after Jeff cut them off, Khloe came to my office and called me all types of names. She said I was jealous because she didn’t take me to Hollywood and make me a star. ‘Really?
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