“If that’s the case, then could Carlisle be involved in his murder?”

  “Disappearance.” Ben set the glass down beside the first one. “You need to stop throwing that murder word around. You’re going to get the wrong people upset.”

  “Are there people I should be afraid of upsetting?”

  “Well for one, the group of actors that are about to put on the murder mystery. You’re going to steal all of their thunder with your own murder mystery, aren’t you?”

  “I would think they would be concerned about their fellow actor.”

  “I would think that, too. But they know Howard well enough to be certain that he’s off drunk somewhere.”

  “Even though he refused the drink that you offered him?”

  “Maybe he refused one, maybe someone was watching that he wanted to put on a show for, that doesn’t mean he didn’t binge drink later to make up for it. Trust me, I’ve seen it enough.”

  “Sounds like you were fed up with him.”

  “Not really.” Ben sighed. “Honestly, it’s a little complicated. I started working here pretty young, and Howard became a bit of a father figure to me. Not a great one, but you know, the closest thing to a father I’ve had.”

  “So, you two were close?”

  “More like, we come to blows now and then. I try to keep him in line. But he’s just a loose cannon. No one can ever predict what he’s going to do next.”

  “What about Jeremiah? Do you know much about him?”

  “He’s new. A good kid, I guess. I mean, he takes his acting very seriously.”

  “Are there often new actors?”

  “Actually, no. It’s been the same crew for years. A few have come and gone, but very few.”

  “Why is that?” Eddy watched as Ben picked up the same glass he’d already cleaned, and began to clean it again.

  “You know, once a crew has worked together so long, they become like a machine. I think it’s just easier not to add new blood to the group. Plus, they’re all very picky about who they will work with. Usually people aren’t brought into the group unless there’s some kind of personal connection to one of the actors.”

  “Did Jeremiah have a personal connection with any of the actors?”

  “I’m not sure. From what I heard, no, but he did spend an awful lot of time with Howard.”

  “I noticed they argued at dinner. Do you know anything about that?”

  “I heard something. Jeremiah was probably upset about Howard being drunk again. He was all about the performance. As soon as he arrived, Howard started acting like he was on this straight and narrow kick.”

  “Do you think Jeremiah would ever cause him any harm?” Eddy asked.

  “No, I don’t. I think the only person who caused Howard harm, was Howard. If there was anyone else out there that wanted to do damage to him they would have to wait in line, because Howard does a bang up job of it himself. Excuse me a second.” Ben turned to another man behind the bar. “We’re going to need a few blocks of ice for the lunch rush, can you bring them up front?”

  “Sure.” He stepped through the door that led to the storage room.

  “Anything else I can do for you, Eddy?” Ben looked back at him.

  “Do you think Jeremiah and Howard had some kind of history?”

  “It’s possible I guess. Now that I think about it, he could have invited Jeremiah. Since no one else claimed to, I guess he might have.”

  “If he did, why would he keep it under wraps?”

  “I’m not sure, maybe Jeremiah didn’t want to be associated with him.”

  “Thanks for the information, Ben. Just let me know if you overhear anyone talking about Howard. That would be very helpful.”

  “Sure, no problem. It’s going to be a busy lunch, since the murder mystery starts this afternoon. I’ll listen close.”

  “Thanks Ben.” Eddy stood up and headed for the door of the bar. As he pushed it open he almost ran into a well-dressed man with two beautiful women, one on either side of him. He recognized him immediately as one of the men he had overheard on the third floor, when he had done his initial search. He could not see the other thick-set man so presumed he wasn’t with him. “Excuse me.”

  “Did you get any service in there? That bartender won’t even give me a beer.”

  “I don’t think he’s allowed to serve before a certain time.”

  “I’m sure he lets the employees dip now and then. He wouldn’t even take a bribe.” He shook his head.

  “Eddy.” Eddy offered him his hand. “Are you here for the murder mystery?”

  “Tad.” He shook Eddy’s hand. “No, I’m here for a mystery of my own. You haven’t seen this guy around have you?” He held up his phone with a picture of Howard on it.

  “No, sorry, not since yesterday.”

  “Oh, you did see him yesterday?”

  “Sure, before dinner.”

  “But not after that?”

  “No, I haven’t seen him since.” Eddy narrowed his eyes. “Except on the floor of the dining hall, dead.”

  “What?” Tad lowered his phone. “What are you talking about?”

  “Howard is dead. I saw it for myself.”

  “You’re crazy. If Howard was dead, I would know about it.”

  “Someone moved the body. Someone, who didn’t want to be caught.”

  “Look, I don’t know what you’re getting at here, but I don’t like the tone of your voice. If you’re going to accuse me of something, you ought to just come right out and say it,” Tad growled.

  “I know that you wanted Howard dead. Now he is.” Eddy shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged. “Is that a coincidence?”

  “I had nothing to do with Howard going missing, or his death. As far as I know the little pipsqueak is still alive, and I hope that’s the case, because I want my money.”

  “Howard is broke, you know that you’re not going to get anything from him.”

  “No, he’s not broke. I know for a fact that he had a fifty thousand dollar windfall recently, that’s why I’m here,” Tad said.

  “Where would he get that kind of money?” Eddy asked.

  “An inheritance, I was told. Some distant relative died, and he was left the money. As soon as I heard about it I knew I had to collect, before he either gambled it away, or someone else came to collect. So no, I would not have killed Howard, that would defeat my purpose for being here, wouldn’t it?”

  “Yes, I guess it would, unless you got your money, and still wanted to get rid of him.”

  “That’s a rather rude assertion to make. Do you think I’m a murderer?”

  “I think things can get heated when there are large sums of money involved. Perhaps you lost control.”

  “No sir, I did nothing of the kind. I always get my money, but I am not a murderer. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have more pressing matters to attend to.” He pushed past Eddy. Eddy stared at him for a moment, then turned and walked away. If Howard really did have money, then things had changed again. If Carlisle and Jennifer also knew about the money, then either of them could have been driven to kill in an attempt to get it.

  15

  As Jo walked down the hallway, away from the security room her attention was caught by a couple of staff members going into a room. She walked towards the room, but the door was closed. She could hear laughter from inside. She knocked on the door. When a young woman opened it, she was surprised to see several people around her. For a small guest room, there were quite a few staff members crammed inside.

  “Hi, do you have a minute?” Jo smiled at the woman who opened the door.

  “A minute for what? We’re not on shift until lunch. If you need something you can call down to the front desk.”

  “Oh no, I don’t need anything. I just wanted a chance to talk with all of you, if that’s okay?” She smiled at the other staff members in the room.

  “Talk to us about what?” One of the young men glanced at the others in the room. “What’s this about?”

  “I was just wondering if you might be able to answer a few questions for me.”

  “We’re not involved in the murder mystery.”

  “It’s not about the murder mystery. It’s about one of the actors, Howard. Did you know him?”

  “Howard? Sure we all do. He’s a trip.” The young man laughed. “It’s hard not to miss him.”

  “Is he? How so?”

  “Oh well, he’s always getting himself into some kind of trouble. I guess you could say he’s the comic relief around here.”

  “Only when he’s drunk. He’s hilarious.” A woman seated on the couch laughed. “If you ever need cheering up just give Howard a drink.”

  “What about last night at dinner? He didn’t seem very funny then.”

  “No, he wasn’t.” She frowned. “He got into it with Jeremiah, and he knows better. I told him to get out before Bart got hold of him.”

  “Oh, what would Bart do if he got hold of him?”

  “Bart has his ways.” The first man she spoke with rolled his eyes. “He doesn’t fire people, he just coerces them into doing what he wants.”

  “Is he always so strict?” Jo asked.

  “Bart’s all right. He helped me out when one of the guests was harassing me.” Another woman stood up. “And yes, he has to keep Howard in line, because when he’s drunk he does stupid things. Jeremiah shouldn’t have said those things to him though.”

  “What did Jeremiah say?” Jo met her eyes.

  “He told him that he was a worthless drunk, and that he had ruined everything. That he didn’t deserve to be alive. He said something about how he shouldn’t have invited him here if he wasn’t going to change.”

  “Howard shouldn’t have invited Jeremiah?”

  “Yeah, that’s right. I thought that was a little strange because I didn’t think they even knew each other, but that’s what he said.” She shrugged. “Anyway, if Jeremiah knew anything about Howard he’d know better than to talk to him like that. Howard doesn’t like to be yelled at. He’s usually a happy drunk, but if he gets angry, you don’t want to be around him.”

  “Have you heard any chatter about guests looking for Howard?”

  “Well.” One of the young men hesitated as he spoke. He ran his hands over his knees and frowned. “Everyone knows that Tad Billings and his ex-wife are here because of him.”

  “Word gets around?”

  “Yeah, especially since Tad Billings offered a reward to any staff member that could find Howard and bring him to his room.”

  “What?” Jo’s eyes widened. “Did anyone find him?”

  “No, of course not. Bart got wind of the offer and he warned all of us that if we do anything to help Tad, we’re going to lose our jobs and possibly face arrest.” He shook his head. “I don’t know if he can really arrest anyone for that, but if there is a way Bart will find it.”

  “It sounds to me like Bart is very protective of Howard.”

  “He’s protective of everyone here.” One of the women nodded. “He looks out for us. If we get out of line, we know it, but he’d rather retain his employees than hire new ones.”

  “The owner of the resort pretty much lets Bart run the place?” Jo asked.

  “Yes. I don’t think he really reports to anyone.”

  “Interesting. So he’d have a lot to lose if something bad happened here?”

  “Maybe.” The woman glanced at her watch. “We’re running out of time before lunch.”

  “All right, thanks for your time everyone. If you think of anything, and you want to reach out.” She offered a card with her name and number to the woman who answered the door. “Please feel free to contact me.”

  “No reward?” The young man behind her asked.

  “I wouldn’t want to upset Bart.” Jo winked, then left the room. As she headed down the hallway she decided to take the stairs up to the second floor. As she started walking up the stairs she heard the scuff of a shoe behind her. She turned around to see a man on the landing behind her. It took her a moment, but she recognized him as Bart.

  “Were you following me?” She stared down at him.

  “Shouldn’t I be?” He looked up at her with a frown. “You’re determined to put yourself in danger.”

  “I haven’t done anything wrong.”

  “Maybe not, but be aware, I have my eye on you.”

  “Thanks, I’m aware. I think I’ll take the elevator.” She climbed the last few steps to the first floor and ducked into the hallway. She tried to shake off the uneasiness he left her with as she pressed the button for the elevator. She wasn’t sure if he was being considerate, controlling, or downright creepy. When she reached the room, Eddy, Samantha, and Walt had just arrived.

  “Walt, did you find any record of an inheritance in Howard’s financial history? I was told by Tad Billings that he had a recent windfall.” Eddy sat down at the table beside him.

  “No, but maybe I missed it if it was a small amount.”

  “It wasn’t. It was a large amount. Fifty thousand”

  “Wow! Hmm, no I didn’t see anything, but I’ll look it back over again. I don’t think I could have missed something like that though. Maybe he kept it in cash somehow,” Walt said.

  “If he had money like that, then there is even more motive for everyone who came here to collect.”

  “But if he had the money, why wouldn’t he have paid off some of his debts?” Samantha asked.

  “It wouldn’t have even covered half of it,” Walt said.

  “Maybe he was trying to hide the money to give himself something to survive on.” Eddy scratched the back of his neck. “That could really cause some anger in those that he owed money to.”

  “I think we should consider Bart as well. He’s very involved with Howard, and highly protective of his position here at the resort. I think he might have been up to something. Not only that, but I found out that Howard is the one who invited Jeremiah here,” Jo said.

  “Oh really, Ben mentioned that might be the case. I think we need to have another conversation with Jeremiah.”

  “Yes, I agree. But we’re getting tight on time.” Jo glanced at her watch, then frowned. “The murder mystery is going to start in about an hour.”

  “Good, that means that Jeremiah should be heading down to the lobby soon.” Eddy stood up. “Let’s see if we can catch him before he gets there. Walt, do you know which floor Jeremiah is staying on?”

  “Uh, I think all of the actors are on the third floor. But let me just confirm that.” He clicked through a few screens on his computer, then nodded. “He should be on the third floor.”

  “Good, let’s head up there and wait for him by the elevator. We can act like we just happened to be there, and it will be less confrontational.”

  “Good idea, but I don’t think we should all go, Eddy. Just you and Sam,” Jo said.

  “You think?” Samantha looked up.

  “You two make a good team. Eddy gets to the point and you can keep people calm, Sam. I’ll stay here with Walt and keep digging into things.”

  “All right, let’s go now before we miss him.”

  Eddy and Samantha stepped out of the room and headed to the third floor. When they stepped off the elevator the hallway was empty.

  “It seems like Jo is really getting suspicious of Bart.”

  “I don’t blame her. He acts strange.”

  “Who doesn’t in this place?” Samantha sighed. “I’m not sure we’re ever going to figure this one out.”

  “Don’t give up, we’re getting close, I can feel it.” Eddy tilted his head towards a door that opened at the end of the hallway.

  “Here he comes. Pretend we don’t see him,” Samantha suggested.

  “All right. I guess I just said something very interesting.”

  “Yes, you did. I’m very interested. I’m not even paying attention to the man walking down the corridor towards us.”

  “How close is he?”

  “Just seconds now, and go.”

  Eddy turned to face Jeremiah. “Ah, Jeremiah, it’s good to see you again.”

  “I don’t have time to talk, I need to get down to the lobby.”

  “Well, we just have one question for you.”

  “No, no more questions.” He looked between Eddy and Samantha with red-rimmed eyes. “I have nothing more to say.” He started to push past him, but Eddy blocked his way.

  “It’s time to tell the truth, Jeremiah. I know that Howard invited you here. So how did you really know him? There’s much more to this story than you’re telling.”

  “It’s none of your business.” He scowled as he stepped around Eddy in an attempt to get to the elevator.

  “Wait just a minute.” Eddy placed his hand over the elevator call button. “It is our business. A man is dead.”

  “He’s not dead. He’s missing. Because he went off and got drunk again. Now let me pass before I call security.”

  “He is dead. I’m sorry to tell you this, Jeremiah, but he is very much dead. I saw him with my own eyes, I checked for a pulse, and I know for a fact that he is dead.”

  Jeremiah looked over at him. For just a moment his expression flickered with shock.

  “That’s not true. You’re just trying to upset me.”

  “Would that upset you? How did you know Howard?”

  “You’re sick, you know that? You come here for the murder mystery, but the show isn’t enough? You have to invent a crime and try to rub it in everyone’s faces? There’s nothing normal about that.”

  “Jeremiah.” Eddy stared hard into his eyes. “I’m not inventing anything. I can tell that you cared about Howard, and you should know the truth. He’s dead. I’m sorry.”

  “You’re wrong.” Jeremiah shook his head. “It can’t be true. Move.” He pushed Eddy’s hand out of the way of the button and pressed it in. “I have nothing else to say to you.” The elevator doors slid open, and he stepped inside. “If you cause me any more trouble I will go to the resort security and file harassment charges. I need to get in character, not to be hassled by you.” The elevator doors slid shut again. Eddy looked over at Samantha.