Read Beach Bags and Burglaries (A Haley Randolph Mystery) for Free Online Page A

wondered how someone so tiny could push those heavy housekeeping carts up and down the halls. I glanced around but saw no cart.
    She gestured to my room. “I just wanted to see if you needed anything, Miss Randolph.”
    Was my picture up in the employee lounge above the caption “Be extra nice to this person, she discovered a dead body”?
    “Everything’s great,” I told her.
    She nodded and twisted her fingers together for a few seconds, then said, “I heard you’re the one who found Jaslyn.”
    I wasn’t all that anxious to talk about Jaslyn—I should have gone with my Holt’s instincts and bolted when I saw her coming—but there was nothing I could do about that now.
    I shouldn’t have to be constantly on my toes. I’m on vacation.
    “That’s right,” I said.
    Tabitha glanced around and leaned a little closer. “Is it true what everybody is saying? You know, that the detectives think it was just an accident?”
    Okay, now I felt kind of bad. Obviously, Tabitha was concerned for her safety.
    “That’s what somebody told me,” I said. “But, really, I don’t know anything for sure.”
    “What did the detectives say?” she asked. “Exactly?”
    “They mostly just asked me questions,” I said.
    “Do they have any evidence?” Tabitha asked.
    Of course, workers at the resort would be interested in the details of Jaslyn’s death. Word must have gotten around that the detectives thought it was an accident and Tabitha wanted to confirm the news. I guess it would give a little more peace of mind to everyone working here. Tabitha seemed anxious for details, but if I were in her shoes, maybe I would be, too.
    “I don’t know anything about their evidence,” I said, then decided to move the conversation in another direction. “You and Jaslyn were friends?”
    “Kind of,” she said. “We live here, all the employees. Well, not here at the hotel. There’s a dorm near the docks for us. We stay there for our shifts, then we can leave the island on our days off, if we want to.”
    I eased closer to my door, more than ready to end this little talk, but Tabitha was having none of it.
    “Where did you ... find her?” she asked. “It wasn’t on the cliffs, was it?”
    “No,” I said, thinking it better I didn’t go into too much detail.
    “Jaslyn wouldn’t have gone up there unless ...”
    She stopped.
    I hate it when that happens.
    “Unless what?” I asked.
    Tabitha shook her head as if dismissing the thought she’d had, then a few seconds later she seemed to change her mind again.
    “Unless her boyfriend made her,” she said. “He was always trying to get her to go up there. But if you didn’t find her there, I guess it’s okay.”
    So Avery was wrong about employees dating each other. Surprise, surprise.
    “She had a boyfriend?” I asked.
    “Just some guy,” Tabitha said.
    She looked at me for a few seconds, then backed away.
    “Okay, well, thanks,” she said.
    Tabitha looked only marginally more relieved than when we’d started talking. But I didn’t know anything else I could tell her.
    I went into my room, took a quick shower, and dressed in white capris, a yellow T-shirt, and flip-flops. I didn’t hear Bella moving around in her adjoining room, so I knocked. I got no answer, so I figured she was already in the lobby. I slid my resort pass into my pocket and headed downstairs.
    Just as I stepped into the lobby I spotted a guy heading my way. Kind of tall, late twenties, shaggy brown hair, good-looking. He had on rumpled khaki pants and a stretched-out blue polo shirt.
    Hang on a minute.
    I’d seen those clothes before.
    He saw me in the same second and froze. I froze too because, oh my God, I knew him. It was Ben Oliver, a reporter for the L.A. Daily Courier . We had history—sort of. What the heck was he doing here?
    He didn’t give me a chance to ask. Ben spun around and took off, heading for the door.
    No way was I letting that happen. I took off after him.
    I dashed