Collecting Can Be Murder: A Cozy Murder Mystery with a Female Amateur Sleuth (Carmen De Luca Art Sleuth Mysteries Book 1) by Jennifer S. Alderson

Author:Jennifer S. Alderson [Alderson, Jennifer S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Traveling Life Press
Published: 2023-05-30T16:00:00+00:00

18 Antiques Time

As we walked down the hallway towards the staircase, a niggling thought made me change direction. “Before we search his room, let’s make a quick detour. If Roger really did make himself a meal and take it up to his room last night, the kitchen staff might have seen him. If that platter was hiding a meal, then we are wasting our time. It’s a long shot, but might be worth the effort.”

I knocked twice before slowly opening the kitchen door, not wanting to bash into a worker in the process. Standing inside were two women, washing several pots and pans by hand.

When we entered, a familiar voice caused me to look to the television mounted in one corner. To my surprise, my best friend was smiling back at me from the small screen.

The two employees stopped washing and looked at us in expectation. I tried tearing my eyes away from the television, but was too shocked by Rhonda’s presence to do anything but stare at her.

When neither the Baroness nor I spoke, one asked in lightly accented English, “How can we help you?”

Her question snapped me out of my trance and reminded me of why we were here. “Do you know if Roger ate any dinner last night? He showed up so late, we were concerned about him. He hasn’t yet come down for breakfast,” I lied, too easily, I’m afraid, hoping they had not seen him grab a cup of coffee. “If he hasn’t eaten yet, we thought we might bring some pastries up to his room.”

Both women shrugged before the older one answered. “I can’t really tell, to be honest. We cooked so much food because of the party, I could not tell you what he took or how much—the refrigerator was full of leftovers.”

“Right, that makes sense. Are you missing any dinner trays or platters?”

“Just the one, but Roger has it in his room. Tammy informed us when she came down.”

“Oh, okay. Then he must have eaten already. That’s a relief—right, Lady Sophie?” I said with a forced smile. So Tammy knew that Roger had taken a tray upstairs, which meant she probably knew what was underneath the cover. I examined the other silver trays. They were large enough to fit two full plates of food under the domed lid, which meant the five books could have fit under there quite easily. So had Roger taken food or the books up to his room?

“Yes, it is. Thank you for your assistance.” The Baroness nudged me and nodded at the door.

When I hesitated, my eyes locked on my best friend’s face peering back at me from the television, the older worker asked politely, “Is there anything else we can help you with?”

“No,” I muttered, trying to stay on track, but the television show distracted me. I pointed to the small screen, upon which my best friend was presenting her show, Antiques Time with Rhonda Rhodes. “I’m sorry, I know this program from back home. Is

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.