Bachelorettes and Bodies by Jenna St James

Author:Jenna St James [James, Jenna St]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-07-28T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

“Psst. Aunt Shirley. You need to wake up. It’s almost eleven o’clock.”

Aunt Shirley smacked her lips. An appalling sight considering her false teeth had fallen out of her mouth while she’d been resting her eyes.

She reached down and shoved the false teeth back in. “I must have dozed off for a minute.”

I shuddered at the sight, but forged ahead. “It’s almost eleven. We need to head downstairs to the restaurant.”

In truth, I really just wanted to crawl into bed and go to sleep. Let Detective Dickerson solve the case. But I knew Aunt Shirley would have my hide if I let her sleep through the night.

“Give me a minute to go to the bathroom,” Aunt Shirley said as she hoisted herself off the couch. “My bladder ain’t what it used to be.”

A few minutes later she was ready to go, teeth firmly latched in place and bladder empty.

We crept out of our suite and rode the elevator to the casino floor. When the doors opened, bells and whistles and excited voices greeted us. I guess it didn’t matter if it was eleven in the morning or eleven at night…casino sounds were all the same. How in the world these people stayed up so late was news to me.

We veered off from the gambling area and made our way to the entertainment and food service area to the exquisite French restaurant. Only a handful of lights were on and the sign read CLOSED.

I knocked on the door and the same maître d that had seated us previously answered. He frowned when he saw us. “We’re closed. You’ll have to come back tomorrow.”

“Maureen said it was okay if we came by,” I said.

“Well, Maureen doesn’t make the rules. Holly is now the manager, so I’ll have to get permission from her.”

Without another word, the snooty man turned on his heel and walked away…shutting the door in our faces.

“I’m thinking he needs a nap,” Aunt Shirley said.

I laughed. “I think I need a nap.”

The door was quickly opened and Holly Barrows stood in the doorway. She definitely looked more relaxed since the first night I saw her.

“May I help you?” she asked snootily.

“I don’t know if you remember us,” I said, “but we were here Wednesday night, the night of Philippe’s murder. And again tonight.”

A wary look came over Holly’s face as she looked at Aunt Shirley. “Yes. I’ve seen you in here many times.”

I tried to put her at ease. “And I’ve seen you. You’re doing a great job through these difficult times. The way you’ve stepped up to the plate to do your part in this tragedy is admirable.”

Holly’s cheeks turned pink and behind her enormous glasses tears filled her eyes. “Thank you. I’m trying really hard. I’ve only been here six months, so Philippe was still training me. I just hope I’m doing him proud.”

I put my hand on her arm. “You are. Trust me, this place is running smoothly considering the horror just experienced.”

Holly tucked a strand of her flowing hair behind her ear.

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