Hotel Caledonia by J.S. Morin

Author:J.S. Morin [Morin, J. S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-64355-032-9
Publisher: Magical Scrivener Press

A glowing ball of radiance trailed after Esper and Drake as they made their way around the gloomy tables and velvet-roped staff areas of the Venetian Dream casino. The floor tilted at a noticeable angle, enough that a roulette ball would vanish across the room if dropped. But the footing was steady enough for two sober passengers on heightened alert.

Drake stubbed his foot on a table leg. “Blast it! Can’t see a thing in here!”

In the dimness, Esper didn’t need to disguise her eye roll. “You’re the one who didn’t want more light.”

“I want you to leave Newton’s Laws alone! The actual, working lights might come back on.”

“I’ll tell Willamina how much you cared,” Esper replied dryly, picking her way through the pit area of the craps tables. “She could be alone, hurt…”

“Dead,” Drake pointed out. “And so could whoever paired off with the killer.”

Esper froze.

HA! You didn’t think of that one, did you? Nice, easy way to figure out who it is, right? Someone dies, you just nab her partner.

“That wasn’t the plan.”

“And if nobody winds up dead…”

Esper’s mote of light flared to daylight. “Is that why you wanted to pair with me? Is that why you insisted we go searching together? Which is it? Are you Mr. Brave-Britches volunteering to go with your prime suspect? Or is it that you’ve gotten it through that hat of yours that I’m not the killer but rather the safest place on this ship?”

Drake jabbed a finger at Esper, stopping just shy of poking her in the chest. “You don’t add up! You’re the poodle in a litter of bulldogs. And so far, you’re the only one I can link to the victim. So, yeah. I’m not letting you out of my sight until I get answers.”

“If you want answers, ask questions. You’re getting in my way. I didn’t come here to help some cruise ship passenger play Inspector Clouseau on a lark.”

“I’m not playing at anything, missy,” Drake snapped. “Twenty-nine years in Earth Interstellar, and I’m not done yet!”

Esper blanched. Recovering quickly, she tried Carl’s old trick of turning a miscue into a joke. “Lemme guess, you’re just a week from retirement.”

“Gettin’ retired permanently if we don’t find the killer.”

“There’s a good chance the killer won’t strike again,” Esper reasoned. “I mean, if he or she had a lone target, lying low might allow them to—”

“Cut the doe-eyed act. You didn’t flinch at the sight of that body. I’ve seen a lot of crime scenes. They look a lot like what I saw in that lounge. You know the ones who don’t bat an eye at the sight of a dead body? Cops, military, forensics, medics… and killers.”

Esper didn’t back down. “And why’s a cop going to such lengths to hack together an investigation before the local authorities get here? Flash a badge, and you’re on the far side of the crime scene isolation beams like that.” She snapped her fingers and had the satisfaction of seeing the man flinch. “You’ve got something to hide.

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