Page 19 of Craving Vengeance
She shook her head.
“So tell me how this works. You knocked on the door, no one answered, and you let yourself in?”
“Yes. When he ordered the room service, he specifically said he wanted the order brought up at 4:00. He wanted the champagne to chill on ice for a few hours. So I arrived at his door and knocked. He didn’t answer, so I knocked again and identified myself. Still no answer, so I spoke through the door and told him that I was going to let myself in. I entered the room and found him,” she sniffled and pressed on. “I was startled. I dropped the tray and ran out of the room. I didn’t stop until I found Marcus and told him what had happened. He called the police, and now here we are.”
Tears ran down her cheeks. “I don’t know why I’m crying like this. I don’t even know the man.”
Marcus nodded.
“Did you see anyone on your way up to make the delivery or on your way back down to the front desk?”
“I passed by lots of people, but I thought they were just regular guests.”
Spinelli pulled his wallet from his pocket, flipped it open, and retrieved a photo of him and Shannon. He stared at the photo for a brief moment wondering where he’d gone wrong. In the picture, he was dressed as Santa, and Shannon wore a little red velvet dress.
The photo had been taken two months earlier while they were working in the Santa display at the mall. This was when he’d first met her. He remembered feeling utterly ridiculous through the whole undercover Santa job, but he did it for her. And it was a good thing he did or she probably wouldn’t be here today to tell her story. He’d snatched her from the boney hands of the Grim Reaper and took a bullet in the process. His chest tightened at the awful memory and what followed. He shook his head. So, this is how she repaid him. She kissed another man; a man who had just turned up dead.
He tore his gaze from the photo and handed it to Ashley, “Have you ever seen this woman?” He watched as Walker glanced at the photo then shifted his confused gaze to him. He knew Walker wanted to say something, but he held his tongue.
“Yes,” Ashley replied with a nod.
Spinelli’s heart leaped into his throat. His lungs drained. Blood rushed through his veins at the speed of light. His mind reeled for a response. He hoped his ears had deceived him. “She was here?” he asked. His voice cracked.
“No, not here, but I’ve seen her before. That’s Ms. O’Hara. She’s my family’s caseworker. My stepdad, he’s a real prick to my mom and my younger stepbrothers,” Ashley’s eyes filled with tears again. “Oh no, is she okay? She’s been a godsend to my mother.”
Spinelli’s throat cleared and his lungs inflated. “She’s fine.”
Ashley’s questioning gaze stayed on him but he offered nothing more.
He refused to look at Walker who’d surely want an explanation. He’d get one as soon as they were finished at the crime scene.
Spinelli and Walker milled around the crime scene with a couple of forensic officers. Nothing looked unusual.
They headed toward the elevator. Walker pressed the button. They waited. Spinelli could feel Walker’s curious gaze on him. The doors opened, they stepped in, and the doors closed. They were alone.
“Okay, do you want to tell me what in the hell that was all about?”
Spinelli looked at Walker, the elevator stopped, and a woman and child stepped through the doors. They rode the elevator in silence, and all exited on the main floor. Once in the unmarked, Spinelli spilled his guts. “The vic, Dr. Joshua Meyers, is the man I saw Shannon kissing in the hallway.”
Walker’s silence about killed Spinelli, and again Walker stared back with the usual unemotional look on his face. He started the car but didn’t shift it into drive. “Where is she now? Where was she going when she left us in the precinct?”
“Church. You can’t possibly...there’s got be a reasonable explanation for this,” Spinelli squeaked out.
“Don’t get me wrong. There’s no way she killed him or anyone else for that matter. But the way it looks right now, she was one of the last people to see the victim alive. I have to wonder, is she in danger as well? I know she doesn’t fit the profile of the other vics. All that said, I am puzzled by the fact you saw her...,” his voice trailed off.
Spinelli swallowed hard and finished Walker’s sentence. “Kissing him. I know what I saw.”
“So, where is she?”
“She’s at St. Mary’s church helping with the fundraiser.”
“What kind of fundraiser?”
Spinelli thought for a moment. His pulse pounded in his ears. His mouth went dry. “She’s playing the role of cupid’s helper,” his voice almost a whisper.
Walker’s eyes widened. “What?”
“They’re performing singing valentines and delivering chocolates and flowers.”
