A Rose From the Dead by Kate Collins

Author:Kate Collins [Collins, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Fiction, General, Mystery & Detective, Mystery Fiction, Women Sleuths, Women Detectives, Funeral Rites and Ceremonies, Undertakers and Undertaking, Indiana, Florists, Detective and Mystery Stories; American, Knight; Abby (Fictitious Character), Weddings
ISBN: 9780451222411
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 2007-11-02T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

I took off my boots and shoved them into Marco’s arms, then took the clip out of my hair, bent over at the waist, and ran my fingers through my blunt bob, shaking my head until my locks looked like a pile of red straw. I stood up to brush the hair from my eyes and said to Marco, “You’ll need to stay out of sight. Oh, and make sure you don’t draw attention to yourself.”

He glowered at me, but I merely smiled sweetly and stepped around the corner. Good thing he couldn’t see me now, because I was sporting quite the smug grin. It felt glorious to be the one giving the orders for a change.

I picked up the room-service tray and walked up the hallway, placing it to the side of Sybil’s door. Next, I carefully pulled off a strip of yellow police tape and placed it in the same position across the door of the room next to hers. I did the same with the second strip, crossing my fingers that the busy housekeeping staff hadn’t paid close attention to which room had been sealed off. I was also hoping that the occupant of the other suite wouldn’t return to find his door sealed.

Okay, Abby, you’re on.

I took a few quick breaths, put on a worried expression, then hurried to the open doorway, where I saw a thirtysomething Hispanic woman in a gray dress and white apron vacuuming beside the bed. “Hello?” I called frantically, knocking on the door. “Excuse me?”

The woman glanced over her shoulder, saw me, and shut off her vacuum. “Jes? May I help jou?”

“Oh, I truly hope so. I came outside to set my food tray in the hallway, and the door shut behind me. I feel like such an idiot. My key card is in the room, and look at me. I haven’t fixed my hair yet, and I don’t even have my shoes on—and I’m supposed to be at a business meeting in ten minutes. I haven’t even started to dress for it. I really don’t want to go down to the lobby looking like this. Would you mind letting me in? There’s a five-dollar tip in it for you as soon as I can get to my purse.”

The maid glanced at my hair, then at my feet, then left her vacuum cleaner so she could walk over to the doorway to peer down the hall. I followed close behind, watching as a perplexed look flashed across her face when she spotted the tray on the floor outside Sybil’s room. What if she had a better memory than I thought? What if my ruse didn’t work?

I tapped the face of my watch, hoping to put some pressure on her. “Twelve twenty? There’s no way I’ll make the meeting on time now. I can’t believe my door shut behind me. That will teach me to order room service on a busy day. You know, they really should make these doors with some kind of safety on them.

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