Page 148 of Summers at the Saint
“The blue notebook Livvy mentioned,” Traci said.
Felice nodded. “She wrote about stuff she was suspicious about, at the hotel. There was funny business with mattresses and the televisions. And in the restaurant, they were switching cheap well-brand booze and wine for call brands. Garrett was involved. Burroughs too. One of Garrett’s girlfriends, Chelsea Shalanian, told us all about it. She used to work at the Verandah, until Garrett got her fired.”
She stopped speaking and fumbled for the cup of water on the tray next to the bed. Traci picked up the cup and held it so that Felice could sip.
“Thanks,” the chef whispered.
“And when the two of you started sniffing around, that’s when Charlie decided to try to get you fired,” Traci said. She tapped the deputy on the shoulder. “Your people need to arrest Charlie Burroughs immediately.”
“Back up,” Shapley said. “We can’t arrest someone just on your say-so.”
“Bring him in for questioning then,” Traci said. “Or does this young lady here have to continue to do your job for you?”
The deputy turned a page in his notebook. “What’s his name again?”
“Charlie Burroughs. He lives here in town. On Blue Heron.”
“Okay, we’ll check it out.”
“Felice,” Traci said, “I’m so sorry you got mixed up in all this. I feel responsible. Is there someone in your family that I should notify that you’ve been hurt?”
“No! It’s just an aunt down in Miami, but I don’t want her to get upset. I’ll be okay, Mrs. E.” She held up her hands again. “Working in restaurants practically my whole life, I’ve had worse burns than this. My main thing is, when can I get back to work?”
“You want to come back? After what’s just happened?” Traci shook her head. “Of course I want you back, more than anything.”
“Okay, cool,” Felice rasped.
“But we need to make sure you’re healed properly,” Traci added. “I have to say, right now, it hurts me to even look at you.”
“Can you find out what’s happened to all my stuff? In the fire? Everything I owned was in my room. My laptop with all my recipes. My knives, all my clothes. My whole life, really.”
“Don’t worry about that right now,” Traci said. “The hotel is insured for any kind of loss you’ve incurred. And again, I don’t know whether to be grateful or terrified that you and Olivia decided to try to solve Parrish’s murder.”
“Parrish was cool. What happened to her wasn’t right. It was Livvy’s idea to try to figure it out. Because she’s really into all this true-crime stuff. At first, it was kind of like a little game we were playing. But then, after Burroughs tried to get us fired, we wanted to get back at him. Prove he was involved. Garrett too.”
Just then, Detective Shapley pushed the examining room curtain aside.
“We sent an officer over to Burroughs’s residence. He’s gone.”
“Gone?” Traci said blankly. “It’s four thirty in the morning.”
“He’s in the wind,” Shapley said. “And it looks like he left in a hurry. There’s a couple expensive cars in his garage, a new Mercedes SEL and a brand-new Ford F-150, still got the dealer stickers on the windows.”
“Livvy was right,” Felice said.
The deputy just shook his head. “We’ve issued a lookout for Burroughs. And this Garrett kid. Ma’am,” he said, addressing Traci, “any idea where Burroughs might head if he’s on the run?”
She was still stunned that they were talking about the trusted GM who’d worked by her side these past four years. “Not really. He kept his private life private. Charlie actually gave me my first job at the Saint. Turns out I didn’t know him as well as I thought I did.”
She twisted the engagement band on her left hand. “He was a workaholic. Never talked much about his personal life. Except…”
The detective pounced. “Except what?”
“There was a cousin who used to come down here on her vacation in the spring. She’d stay at the hotel. Lorissa something. I don’t remember her last name.”
“That gives us a start,” Shapley said. “Anything either of you can tell us about Garrett Wycoff?”
“He’d worked for us since high school. He was a favorite with our members and guests. And me,” Traci said bitterly. “In May, when it looked like he might go work at another resort, I gave him a raise and promotion and promised him he could live in the new dorm.”
