Hotel No Tell by Daphne Uviller

Author:Daphne Uviller
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780553908190
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2011-04-25T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Having an ambulatory meeting with Pippa Flatland ranked low on my list of preferred activities, requiring as it did the lung capacity to keep up with her redwood-length strides while carrying on a coherent conversation as well as the forethought to bring to work a change of unsweaty clothes. If Pippa was angry or excited, her pace increased, and on this Thursday morning she was one or the other, but I didn’t yet know which. I forsook my dignity and broke into a light jog.

“So after the cousin threatened you—”

“Well, I don’t know if it was really a threat,” I puffed. The jog was not helping the stomachache I still had from gorging on apples in an upstate orchard.

“Don’t split hairs, Zephyr. What did he do when you confronted him about the money transfer?”

I had begun my briefing in Pippa’s office, but as soon as I got to the part about Samantha Kimiko Hodges and her potion, Pippa hadn’t been able to sit still. I had assumed we would head to the ferry but, instead, we charged up Pearl Street. By Wall Street, I was gasping for air. Pippa wasn’t even breaking a sweat.

“He acted surprised, as if he didn’t know about it. As if he didn’t know Summa had paid Samantha.”

“What makes you assume he was acting?”

“Well,” I gulped, “the fact that he immediately wanted it covered up, forgotten. I mean, if someone else hired Samantha to kill him, wouldn’t he want both her and that person arrested? Also, it would be a free pass out of Bellevue, clearly attempted homicide, not suicide.” As we sailed past Maiden Lane, I thought longingly of the MetroCard nestled inside my backpack.

“Any chance he was trying to stage his own murder, for whatever reason?”

I shrugged. It was all I could muster.

“Otherwise he’s a victim unwilling to reveal he’s a victim—equally mysterious.”

A few yards in front of us stood an earnest-looking man wielding a clipboard. Normally I resented having to summon the energy to deflect petitioners—I’d put my cellphone to my ear and feign conversation—but today I hoped the do-gooder would offer me a chance to catch my breath.

“Do you have a moment for the Democratic Party?” he asked.

Pippa practically ran him over. I glanced back apologetically.

“And what is this Summa place he runs?”

“Not sure. Genetics something. Going to visit,” I wheezed.

“And no guesses as to why this hotel guest had an appointment at Summa?”

“Zero,” I admitted.

On the next block was another petitioner. I started to slow my pace, but Pippa plowed ahead.

“Do you have a moment for the environment?” pleaded a chubby Goth volunteer.

“Oh for God’s sake!” Pippa sniped. “The rain lets up and you people are out like worms!” We crossed John Street.

“All right, look.” Mercifully, Pippa came to an abrupt stop on the corner. “Where is the Hodges woman right now?”

I shrugged sheepishly.

“You asked her too many questions,” Pippa reproached me. “Does she suspect anything about you?”

“I think she just thinks I’m a nosy pain in the ass.”

“Still.” Pippa started walking again.

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.