“Unless she’s in jail,” I said, gesturing at Chief Alec going toe to toe with his mother.
“She’s not going to jail,” Odelia assured us. “She’s just going to get a slap on the wrist.”
“And a reprimand,” Dooley added.
Odelia laughed.“I see you’ve been adding new words to your vocabulary. Well done, Dooley.”
“Max taught me. He’s been teaching me a lot.”
Odelia cut a critical eye at me.“So I see. Maybe too much, huh, Max?”
I shrugged.“Just trying to help.”
“Yeah, right,” she said with a smirk.
Gran got dressed, and so did the elderly gentleman she was having relations with. All around, people were watching, and the man with the smartphone was still filming. This whole thing would probably be on the Internet tonight.
“Show’s over, folks!” the Chief was shouting, holding up his hands. “Go back to your business. And you, you better stop filming, buddy,” he told the man.
An older couple had posted themselves next to us. They were shaking their heads in disapproval.“The exact same thing happened last night at the hotel,” the woman told Odelia apropos of nothing.
“These two were at the hotel?” Odelia asked.
“No, not these two. Another couple. We’re staying at the Hampton Springs Hotel,” the woman explained. “And down by the pool Cybil Truscott was behaving very inappropriately with the pool boy.” She pursed her lips disapprovingly. “They were… fornicating. On the pool beds! Right under our noses! I couldn’t sleep so I caught the whole thing. An absolute disgrace!”
“We complained to management, of course,” said her husband.
“Not that they’ll do anything,” the woman added. “Because Cybil Truscott is a star, and we’re just lowly guests of the hotel. So she can get away with murder.”
Odelia looked up, and both Dooley and I pricked up our ears.“Murder?” Odelia asked.
“Just a figure of speech,” said the woman. “Though I’m sure she could get away with murder. Did you hear about her husband that got killed last night?”
“But if she was… fornicating right under your noses, surely she couldn’t have done it,” Odelia said.
The woman frowned. This hadn’t occurred to her. “Well, no, but she could have hired a person to do it for her.”
“Like a hitman,” said her husband. “Those rich folks do it all the time. Don’t like your husband? Pay someone to kill him. It’s a common thing in Hollywood.”
I didn’t know about that, and neither did Odelia, apparently, for she wrinkled her nose dubiously. “Did you tell the police about the pool boy thing?”
“Oh, no!” said the woman. “Far be it from us to get involved with the police.”
“I’m sure the police know all about it,” her husband clarified. “I mean, the entire hotel saw the lurid scene! They were all on their balconies, shaking their heads in absolute dismay.”
“But that didn’t keep them from watching,” Odelia muttered.
Grandma came trudging up to us, and the tourists stalked off, their faces contorted into expressions of condemnation.
“Alec says he’ll give me a ride home,” Gran said. “Not that I want a ride home, mind you. I was having so much fun with Leo, until some people started complaining.” She gave a disgusted grunt. “I just wish they’d all mind their own business for a change. I mean, what’s wrong with having a little fun at the beach?”
“There’s nothing wrong with having a little fun as long as you don’t do it in front of a bunch of families with kids, Gran,” Odelia said. “So please don’t do it again, all right?”
“Now that’s a reprimand,” I whispered to Dooley.
“That’s what I figured,” he whispered back. He stole a glance at Gran. “So do you think it’s too soon for me to ask for that piece of chicken?”
Chapter 12
Chief Alec drove Odelia and Gran to the Hampton Springs Hotel. Odelia wanted to check the story of Cybil Truscott and the pool boy so they could scratch the widow off their list of suspects. They entered the hotel and the Chief asked the clerk at the reception desk about the incident of last night. The clerk immediately blushed.
“Um, yes, that happened,” the young man said. He had red hair and freckles and a hard time suppressing a grin.
“So where can we find the male star of this auspicious event?” the Chief asked.
The guy gestured at the pool area.“Dale’s working today, though from the looks of things he won’t be for much longer.”
“Why is that?” Odelia asked.
“Hotel rules. We’re not supposed to get too friendly with the guests.”
“And Dale broke that rule,” the Chief said, nodding.
“He got way too friendly,” he said, that grin finally breaking through. “Way and way too friendly from what I heard.”
“Right,” said the Chief, tapping the desk. “Thanks, buddy.”
They walked outside, and Gran said,“I don’t get it. This Truscott woman can make a spectacle of herself in front of the entire hotel and I can’t even spend some time at the beach with my lover? That’s just not right, Alec!”
“There’s a difference between what people do in the privacy of their pool in the middle of the night and what they do on a public beach during the day,” he grumbled.
“But this isn’t Truscott’s private pool. This is the hotel pool.”
“Nobody complained,” the Chief said. “No complaint, no problem.”
“I should have ducked behind the bushes,” Gran grumbled. “But Leo doesn’t like the bushes. Says it feels too sneaky. And he doesn’t like sneaky.”
“Sounds like Leo is quite a pistol,” said Uncle Alec.
“Sounds like Leo is a bad influence,” Odelia said.
She shared a look with her uncle.“Or the other way around,” the latter muttered. She smiled. He just might be right. Leo didn’t really look like the kind of guy who’d go out of his way to cause trouble. In fact he looked one cardiac arrest away from a trip to the morgue. If anyone was the pistol here, it was Gran.
They stepped onto the paved pool area and searched around for the infamous pool boy. There were plenty of hotel guests lounging on pool beds and chaise lounges, sipping cocktails and reading the latest summer bestseller. Then she spotted a young man messing around with what looked like a filter near the edge of the pool. He was tan with brown hair, dressed in blue dolphin boxers and looked way too young to be entertaining Mrs. Truscott in the middle of the night.
They headed over while Gran made herself comfortable on one of the chaise lounges. Chief Alec had sworn not to let his mother out of his sight for the rest of the day, or anywhere near Leo. His officers had wanted to put her under arrest, but when they discovered who she was, had balked at the prospect of arresting their boss’s mother. To save face, Alec had told them he’d personally guarantee something like this didn’t happen again. At least not today.
“Hey there, son,” the Chief said as they approached the kid.
He looked up, shielding his eyes from the sun.“Yes?”
“Alec Lip. Chief of Police. Can I have a word with you?”
The kid rose to his feet. He looked like he’d been expecting this. “Yes?” His eyes darted to Odelia, a question mark forming on his face.
“Oh, this is Odelia Poole. My niece. She’s helping me investigate the murder of Niklaus Skad. So it’s Dale, right? Dale….”
The kid licked his lips. He didn’t look a day over twenty. “Dale Hoover, sir.”
“Well, Dale Hoover, we’re trying to ascertain the whereabouts of Niklaus Skad’s wife last night. I believe you’re familiar with Cybil Truscott?”
“I… I don’t believe I am, sir. Is she a guest at the hotel?”
“Oh, yes, she is. And we heard youare familiar with Mrs. Truscott.” He gave Dale a knowing look. “Very familiar, if you know what I mean.”
“I—I’m sure I don’t know, sir,” Dale stammered, blushing beneath his tan.
“You and Cybil were seen going at it last night in the pool,” Odelia explained.