On the Wings of Murder (Papa Pacelli's Pizzeria Series Book 12) by Patti Benning

Author:Patti Benning [Benning, Patti]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: Summer Prescott Books
Published: 2017-07-11T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

* * *

Ellie slipped out the front doors of the hotel, ignoring the police vehicles still crowded around the entrance. She kept her eyes up, scanning the pedestrians on the sidewalk for a familiar face. If only it could be that simple, if only she could find her grandmother out here, looking on with the rest of the curious bystanders, wondering what had happened inside the hotel.

Of course, it wasn’t that simple. She didn’t see her grandmother anywhere. Biting her lip and trying to keep the panic from rising again, she started down the sidewalk. The truth was, she had no idea where to start. Where would her grandmother go if she was alone, frightened, and had just come face to face with a dead body? Surely she would try to find Ellie, but she must have somehow gotten turned around.

She felt like she was wandering aimlessly as she stopped in the little shops along the street. She asked each of the shopkeepers if they had seen an older woman matching her grandmother’s description, but no one had. The more she looked, the more hopeless she felt. After a good hour of fruitless inquiries, the stores all began to close, so she returned to the hotel. Instead of going inside, she walked around behind it. There were a couple of other exits around the back of the building, and she wanted to check each of them in case her grandmother had gotten locked out and was simply waiting for someone to open the door and let her inside.

She almost missed it. The light on the side of the building was out, and she wouldn’t have seen the silver band if the clouds hadn’t moved at just that moment to allow the moonlight to glint off it. She bent to pick up her grandmother’s wristwatch.

She held it in her hands, turning it back and forth in hopes that there might be something on it, something to tell her what had happened to her grandmother. There was nothing. No note, but thankfully no blood. She slipped the watch into her pocket and began to examine the ground outside the door more thoroughly. Her grandmother didn’t seem to have dropped anything else. Had the watch been an accident, or had she left on purpose, to show Ellie where she had gone?

She turned her attention to the door, and saw the security camera above it. Her pulse quickened. She had to find Billy. With luck, he would be able to help her once again.

The security room was locked when she got to it, and there was no answer when she knocked. She retreated to the front desk, where she was told that Billy was still with the police. Ellie didn’t even know if Billy was supposed to be sharing the security footage with her, and she wasn’t about to ask him to break any rules in front of the detective.

Ellie returned to her hotel room. She would wait an hour before trying to find the security guard again.

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