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He removed his hat and shook it. It had provided no protection. Water dripped off his hair, down his face, and into his collar. I resisted the urge to stroke the strands plastered to his forehead, and plucked at my wet skirts, stuck to my legs. My hat felt off-kilter and some of my hair had come loose from the arrangement and fell past my shoulders, becoming conduits for drips to soak my back. I must look a sight.
Harry clearly thought so, too, because when I suddenly looked at him, I caught him about to fix my hat. He changed course and instead removed a handkerchief from his breast pocket. He offered it to me.
I unfolded it and held up the sodden square of material. It was too wet to be of use. For some inexplicable reason, we both thought it was the most ridiculous thing. We laughed. We laughed harder than the silly situation warranted.
And it felt wonderful.
When I arrived at the hotel, I felt lighter than I had in days. Seeing the harried staff and frustrated guests no longer worried me. Not even my uncle’s scowl at my sorry state bothered me. I smiled, gave him a cheerful wave, and continued on my way, leaving a trail of drips on the foyer’s tiles.
I removed my wet clothes in my suite and dried off. My hair wasn’t so easily or quickly dried, so I left it loose and dressed in a simple skirt and white cotton blouse. I had a few hours to spare before my afternoon tea engagement with Flossy and Aunt Lilian.
Harry and I hadn’t discussed our next steps in the investigation, so I was about to settle down at the desk to write notes when there was a brisk knock on the door. I opened it to see Harmony standing there.
“Thank goodness you’re here, Cleo! Goliath said he saw you return, but I wasn't sure if you’d left again.” She spoke rapidly and could barely contain her smile.
“You look like you have interesting gossip to impart. Dare I hope it’s regarding the investigation?”
She dug into her apron pocket. “I think I’ve found the clue that will solve it.” She pulled out a coral ribbon and dangled it in front of my face. “Is this the same color ribbon you found on the victim’s body?”
I fingered the silk material. It was the same shade and texture as Rosa Rivera’s ribbons. If it was in Harmony’s possession, it meant she’d found it here in the hotel when she was cleaning rooms.
But why would one of Rosa’s ribbons be here? Who had she given the love token to? And what did it mean for our investigation?
“Where did you get it?”
“I found it tied around one of the room’s door handles. I’ll show you.”
She led me along the corridor and down the service stairs to the second floor. The guest rooms on this level were just single rooms and not all of them haden suitesattached. The rate was cheaper than the larger rooms, but it was still too expensive for most people.
They were too expensive for Rosa Rivera, but not if someone paid for it on her behalf.
Harmony’s housekeeping cart was parked outside room 221. She retied the ribbon around the handle and pointed to the DO NOT DISTURB sign hanging there. Her discreet but rather rude hand gesture made it clear what she thought was going on behind the closed door. Knowing what I knew about the hotel’s comings and goings, I suspected she was right. While it was never discussed by members of my family, it was obvious that the hotel was sometimes used as a place for clandestine rendezvous between a gentleman guest and his mistress. Inviting a common whore to one’s room was never condoned, but mistresses were a different matter, as long as discretion was maintained.
“Whose room is this?” I whispered.
She shrugged. With her finger to her lips, she indicated I should hide behind the large potted plant at the end of the corridor while she continued her cleaning rounds.
I waited and watched. Most guests were out during the day so few people came and went. I began to wonder if room 221 was occupied at all, but finally, the door opened. A middle-aged man’s head poked through the gap.
He looked left and right along the corridor then, thinking no one was in the vicinity, emerged from the room. He turned and smiled to the person still inside then walked off, away from me.
I recognized him.
Suddenly, everything began to click into place.
Chapter16
Iwatched from the safety of my hiding spot behind the potted palm as a woman’s hand snaked around the door of room 221 and untied the ribbon from the handle. I didn’t need to see her to know it was Rosa. I had no doubt the ribbon belonged to her. She was using it as a signal to tell her lover where to meet her.
Her current lover being Lord Dunmere, owner of a fast automobile.
I went in search of Harmony and found her cleaning the last room on level two. “Rosa Rivera is having a relationship with Lord Dunmere,” I said as I helped her make the bed.
She straightened, frowning. “Is he the murderer? It would be a shame if he is.”
“Why?”
“I hear he’s a nice man. Very wealthy, too. No wonder Rosa went from Rigg-Lyon to him.”
