Aunt Eve's Last Bite by L.K. Campbell

Author:L.K. Campbell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: family drama, murder mystery, cozy mystery, blue ridge, family issues, cozy detective, apple orchard, hotelier, nc mountains, hotel stories
Publisher: L.K. Campbell

Chapter 8

Two police vehicles, one marked and one unmarked, rolled into the driveway, bypassed the unloading area, and entered the parking lot. Thank goodness police cars aren’t adorning the front entrance. With one more check-in to arrive, Celeste didn’t want the first thing they saw at The Gran Vista to be police vehicles. She hadn’t expected to see Brad again so soon. She waved to him when he came in the side door.

“Good afternoon, Celeste,” he said. “I hope you’ve had a calm day following this morning’s excitement.”

“Yes, much calmer. You just missed Abby. She came over and kept me company.”

He folded his arms and leaned over on the counter. “When did she get back from the beach?”

“Yesterday. They always return when the snow ends here and before temperatures rise there.”

“I don’t blame them. I’ve been to the coast when it was so hot I thought I’d melt. By the way, thanks for letting me look at the security camera videos. It did help. I’d like you to give serious thought to locating more cameras around the building. You should have one on the parking lot and another on the pool.”

“So if one of my guests has a wardrobe malfunction in the hot tub, he or she has to wonder who is monitoring the camera or if a video will go viral online.”

He laughed. “You have to get with the program, Celeste. We live under constant surveillance wherever we are.”

“The pool is closed six months out of the year. Kevin won’t open it for another few weeks.”

“But we’ve seen how often people go in and out of the door, and they still sit on the deck to take in the view. I imagine it’s very romantic in the evening watching the sunset over the mountain.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw two uniformed officers walk past the front windows and go around the side of the building.

“They’ll take down the police tape before they leave this afternoon,” Brad said.

“Good, I had a reporter come calling earlier, and I think she snuck out there and got a peek at the scene. I sent her your way.”

“Thanks,” he said. “I spoke with her, but I don’t think she was happy with what I had to say.”

He started to speak again, but Celeste saw Daniel leave the gym and walk back to the elevator. His gait had almost returned to normal, but he still favored his right leg. Once his back was to her, she nodded and pointed toward him. Brad picked up on her gesture and turned in time to get a look at Daniel before the elevator doors closed.

“He’s an odd guy,” Brad whispered. “I was a rookie in the department when he disappeared. I remember a lot of speculation on whether he’d taken off on his own because legal trouble was brewing. His wife believed he’d been abducted and forced to withdraw money from the bank. With the Pennys being a prominent family, the Chief at the time wanted to go the extra mile for them.

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.