“Oh?” Anna asked. “Why is that? Was there a reason I shouldn’t want to?”

  “Our ages are very different.” he replied calmly. “I am old enough to be your father.”

  “Why can’t two people of vastly different ages share a drink?” Anna asked. “It seems very silly to distance yourself over a few trips around the sun.”

  “You do have a point.” Frank smiled and took a sip of bourbon. “But, tell me, are you interested in enjoying more than a drink with me?”

  “I would be leading you on if I said yes.” Anna replied. “I am not one to get involved with a committed man. You are with Nancy Henderson right now.”

  “Why would you say that?” Frank asked, slightly confused.

  “The other day, I saw you two coming down the hall. You looked like you were having a very good time together is all.” Anna offered. “It seemed to me that you were an item.”

  “Heavens, no.” Frank laughed. “Oh, she is a flirt. Writes me these over the top love notes. But I am not interested in her at all. In fact, I feel more like her pawn at times. You see, I had tried to get to know her when she first came and she was too interested in what Meadow and Tony were doing.

  Didn’t give me two minutes of her time. After Tony died, she become obsessed with me. It was strange. I’m sure she was just dealing with the grief of losing her first love and all but I wasn’t interested in her. She had her chance and she blew it.”

  “You said you have notes from her?” Anna replied.

  “I do.” Frank replied. “Several of them. Rather detailed ones. Very impressive handwriting. I really do think she has good penmanship.”

  “Do you think I could see these notes?” Anna asked. “I would be interested in seeing them.” “You’ll have to come back to my room to see them.” He smiled. “I mean, if that’s okay and all.”

  “I’ll go up to your room to see them. That’s fine.” Anna replied. “It is important that I see those notes.”

  “Not as important as it is that you and I sit here and savor our drink and our time with each other. Those notes aren't going anywhere, are they?” His words were very calm. “Then you can see the notes. Go through them. Whatever it will take to make you happy. But, for now, I want to enjoy this delicious bourbon. I want to savor the warmth and get lost in the notes of the drink. This is important to me.”

  “Very well.” Anna sighed. “Let’s enjoy our drinks and talk. Then we can look at the notes in your room.”

  “Mmm. I like that idea.” He smiled and winked.

  Anna chose to ignore the advances. He was in for a rude awakening when all she did was look and compare the notes in his room. But he was anxious and nervous. Nancy had watched her leave her room and had asked for food recommendations. She also knew what foods Anna liked. Was it possible she’d try to kill her?

  Giving him her best smile, she realized it was possible that she was having her last drink in this life. If Nancy was the killer, she knew that Anna was getting close and would kill her. However, if she was wrong and someone else was the killer, she could end up putting her trust in the wrong person. That trust could ultimately kill her.

  Chapter 9

  Anna impatiently waited for Frank to nurse his bourbon. The older man seemed to savor each sip as he’d close his eyes and would constantly swirl the glass. However, right now, Anna needed to find some resolution.

  Finally, the older man set down his glass and looked Anna in the eyes and smiled at her. She cordially returned the smile.

  “Should we have another drink?” Frank asked.

  Anna shook her head. “I’d like to look over the letters we discussed, if that is okay?” Frank looked at her, shook his head, and got to his feet.

  “Let’s go look at the letters then.” he said, his voice slightly annoyed.

  Anna took his hand, which caught him off guard. He squeezed her hand and seemed to mellow out then. As she walked away with Frank, the bartender shot her a disapproving look and all she could do was mouth, “It’s not what you think it is.”

  As they approached the elevator, Anna slipped her hand from his. As the doors opened, Sean smiled at them. He had a cheerful look in his bright red uniform.

  “Anna!” He smiled warmly. “Hello, Mr. Dante. Will both of you be going to the same floor?” “Yes.” Frank grumbled.

  “Thank you, Sean. How are things?” Anna asked.

  “Very well.” Sean smiled. “I am having another grandchild. My youngest daughter is in labor right now. I wish I could be there to see the new grandbaby after he’s born. The first grandson of mine. But I don’t think we’ll get to leave today.”

  “I’ll do everything I can to help you make it.” Anna promised. “I think the murder is going to be solved very soon.”

  “What are you talking about?” Frank asked.

  “I’m just putting out positive vibes.” Anna offered.

  “Don’t promise the help anything.” Frank snapped.

  Anna looked at Sean, who snickered and winked at her. She smiled back and shook her head. As they left, Sean waved and she gently waved back at him.

  Headed down the hallway, Anna admired the luxurious red carpets, wood panel walls, and the chrome lights above them. She really did love this hotel.

  As they approached his room, Frank gave Anna a curious look and she smiled, leaving him to just shake his head. They walked into the room and he turned on the light.

  It took a moment for their eyes to adjust, but someone had ransacked his room. Frank’s face grew red with anger and he turned to Anna.

  “You do realize I am going to have to file a complaint about the hotel?” he hissed. “It is outrageous that your employees would come in here and trash my room. Luckily, all they managed to go through was my clothing. I keep everything else in the safe.”

  Anna looked at him curiously.

  “I’ve been to enough hotels to know that you don’t leave toiletries, valuables, or anything else you don't want people to mess with outside of the safe. So, I’ve always kept those items in there, including the letters I received from Nancy. If they would have been found by someone else, I would have had too much to explain.”

  “But you are a widower, aren’t you?” Anna asked.

  “No.” Frank sighed. “My wife, Meadow’s mother, has been in a coma for the last decade. I pay to keep her on the machines in the hope that one day she will wake up. The doctors have spent years trying to convince me to stop, but I love her too much to give up hope. I’ll flirt with women. I admit that, but if push came to shove, I’d never cheat on my wife. I just like having someone to talk to, if that makes sense?”

  “It does.” Anna nodded. “But you and Nancy were holding hands and going to your room earlier. It seemed like more was going on. So I assumed.”

  Frank smiled. “I have an addiction to some reality television shows. The Real Housewives of Bermuda is a personal favorite. I was telling Nancy about it and some of the drama. She wanted to watch it with me. So, that’s what we did. I can understand how someone from the outside looking in might have perceived the situation very differently, considering the intense obsession Nancy has with me now. But I would never really cheat on my wife, even if she wouldn’t know either way.”

  “I believe she knows your commitment to her.” Anna offered. “I am sure she is blessed knowing you are a man of good morals, too.”

  Frank smiled. “Now, you wanted to review those letters. I’ll get them for you. What are you hoping to find from them? I really don’t understand. They’re just letters.”

  He walked over to the electronic safe, punched in his code and it opened. He pulled out four envelopes and handed them to her.

  Anna held them in her hand for a moment. There was no writing on the outside of the letters. Just blank white envelopes. One did have a coffee mug ring on it but otherwise, nothing to offer her any insight.

  “Are you going to open them?” Frank asked.

  “I am nervous.” Anna offered. “I know this sounds stupid, but I almost am hoping that I am wrong about all of this. Because if I am and I accuse someone of killing Tony again, it’s my job on the line.”

  “What do you mean?” Frank pressed. “You think that Nancy is the killer?”

  “I’m almost positive she is.” Anna paused for a moment. “But I don’t think she got her intended target.”

  “I don’t understand.” Frank replied. “Who was she supposed to kill?”

  “Get Detective Michael Maese to come meet me in the banquet hall and ask Nancy to meet you there. But have him hold back.” Anna replied. “I’m going to go out on a limb on this and put all my cards on the table.”

  “Why don’t you check the letters before you go?” Frank asked. “If they are what you need, I’ll help you with your plan. Why don’t you think the detective will just come and handle this for you?”

  “I already tried calling him.” Anna sighed. “When I tried to accuse Roger of the murder when I thought the intended victim was Tony, not Meadow.”

  “Wait.” Frank stopped her. “Nancy is trying to kill Meadow? But why?”

  “I don’t have that all worked out at this point.” Anna replied. “I have a hunch as to why, but I am hoping I can get her to confess. She’s left me death notes and warnings. If I ask her to meet me in the banquet hall, she’ll know that something is up. If you set things up and we create the perfect setup, I suspect she will attempt to kill me after she admits to the crimes.”

  “But what if she doesn’t and she just attacks you?” Frank pressed. “This seems like a really bad plan.”

  Anna looked at him and opened a white envelope. A perfectly folded piece of ivory paper slid from it. When she looked down at the text, her heart sank. The writing on it was different from what was written on the other notes. Opening the next envelope, she pulled out the letter again. The handwriting, again, was different.

  “It’s not her.” Anna sighed. “The handwriting doesn’t match at all.”

  Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the black envelope with the red writing and handed it to

  Frank. His eyes opened and he looked at it closely.

  “Hold on.” Walking over to the safe again, he pulled out a similar black envelope. “I forgot about this one. It was from her also.”

  Anna opened it and the handwriting didn’t match her threatening note until the middle of the letter and then slowly changed back to the original handwriting. Curious about the change, Anna read it.

  My Beloved,

  My heart is yearning for you and I wish desperately we could be together. I know you have your reasons for not wanting to be with me, but that can’t keep a love so pure and true as mine away from you. We are destined to be together. You should believe that with all of your heart and soul. I love you more than words on paper could ever say.

  I know is it strange, a black piece of paper and red text for a love note. Sadly, this is all I had available to me at the moment. But don’t look at the coloring to symbolize our love. Instead, look at the fact I wrote you a letter with whatever I could find to symbolize my undying commitment to you.

  Anna rolled her eyes and noted that the handwriting then changed to the same one that was written on the threatening letter.

  It upsets me to know there are people who would stand in our way. You shouldn’t believe the lies you hear because they are based on jealousy. If I can put an end to them, I will. There is no reason for anyone to come between us. Ever.

  It was a simple paragraph in which she was upset as she wrote to Frank, but it was enough to show she fully knew what she was doing. After that, the tone and handwriting returned to normal.

  For now, my love, let us just think about what the future holds. I love you with all my heart and soul. I know you don’t feel the same way yet, but you will.

  Always Yours, Nancy Henderson

  “It’s her.” Anna whispered. “I can’t believe I have figured out who killed Tony, but this is the evidence I needed. Do you know what this means?”

  “That it’s time to have your final confrontation so I can check out of this nightmare for good?” Frank asked.

  “Yes!” Anna smiled. “Will you set everything up for me? I am ready to close this case and move on with my life! It seems like an eternity since this whole thing began!”

  “I’ll make the calls now.” Frank nodded. “Be careful. I don’t want to see anything happen to you. I have grown rather fond of you over the last few days.” “I’ll be careful, I promise!” Anna smiled.

  Anna left Frank’s room and turning the corner, she ran into Pierre. Flashing her a toothy smile, he looked at her and concern crossed his face.

  “What’s the matter?” he asked, his words laced with genuine concern. “I’m trying to tie up some loose ends.” Anna tried to push past him.

  He placed a hand on her shoulder and gazed into her eyes.

  “Let’s talk for a minute.” he whispered. “I don’t like there to be ill feelings between us.”

  “There isn’t anything between us.” Anna shook him off her shoulders. “I don’t have time to talk right now.”

  “I just want to say I’m sorry.” Pierre sighed. “Nothing happened with Cassandra. She has been hovering over me, trying to make something happen, but I don’t like her in that way. My heart wants to belong to someone else. “

  “I really can’t do this right now.” Anna whispered, fighting back tears. “Give me a little bit of time. I need to take care of some things right now. I promise, we’ll talk about this in just a little bit. You have to trust me.”

  “Okay.” Pierre sighed. “I’ll wait for you, but let’s not keep putting this off. I want to take you out.” “We’ll talk about it, I promise.” Anna smiled.

  With that, she took off down the hallway and took the stairs down to the first level. Pushing open the exit, she caught a glimpse of Nancy Henderson walking into the Banquet Hall. Her heart was pounding and it was at this moment that Anna knew things were finally coming to a close. She would finally be able to solve the murder and move on with her life.

  Chapter 10

  Anna walked into the darkened Banquet Hall and held her breath. She knew Nancy was in the room with her and wanted to be sure that she would be able to keep an eye on her.

  Flipping on the light, she saw Nancy in the back of the room. The woman turned her attention to her and glared. Ignoring the look, Anna approached her.

  “What are you doing here?” Nancy demanded.

  “It’s over Nancy.” Anna replied. I know you killed Tony.” “I don’t know what you are talking about.” Nancy snapped.

  “I know you positioned the cameras for the wedding reception. When I was watching them, I noticed you said you needed to move them so they caught the happy couple. This pulled the wedding cake out of view. This allowed you to sneak over to the cake and lace the slice of cake with poison.” Anna began.

  “How could I know who would get a particular piece of the cake?” Nancy asked sarcastically.

  “Based on how they were placed on the table, you assumed the one on the left was for the bride, which is where it was delivered originally. Cassandra made a mistake and despite telling her that the slice with three hearts was for the bride, she gave her the wrong slice. So, when the change took place, Tony ended up with the poisoned piece of cake. But he was never the target, was he?”

  “No, he wasn’t.” Nancy agreed. “Meadow was always the target. I’ve wanted her dead from the moment I first laid eyes on her. You know, Tony never offered to marry me, but then he took off with that woman and ruined my life. I vowed that I would make certain her final days were miserable. So, yes, I tried to kill her. I wanted nothing more than to have her perfect day ruined. I even tried to seduce her father and let her know her father would cheat on her mother but he never gave in.”

  “Frank is a good man.” Anna stopped her. “But why continue to pursue him after Tony was dead? You already killed Meadow’s husband.”

  “I still planned to kill her this weekend. I knew you were talking and poking around. I was going to set things up for you to reveal our affair to her. Heartbroken, I anticipated she would confront me and I’d be alone with her and have the opportunity to kill her. Unfortunately, that story is going to change.”

  Nancy reached into her pocket and pulled out a handgun with a silencer on it. “That’s because you are the one is going to die, Anna.” Nancy snarled.

  “Let’s take a moment to think this through, shall we?” Anna replied, her heart pounding in her chest. “If you shoot and kill me, what does it accomplish?”

  “It would be tying up loose ends.” Nancy answered coldly. “I feel terrible that this room will have two deaths in it. Hopefully, you and Tony can haunt it for eternity.”

  Nancy pulled back the hammer on the gun and gave a sinister smile.

  “So, I guess my body count goes up to two today.” Nancy laughed. “But, don’t worry, I have at least one more person who will be joining you in the afterlife.”

  “Please, you really don’t want to do this.” Anna replied.

  “But I do.” Nancy replied and closed one eye, then directed the aim of the barrel at Anna’s heart. “Let’s end this now.”

  Anna closed her eyes and heard the sound of gunfire. She expected to feel pain, but felt nothing. Being dead didn’t seem to change anything. Opening her eyes, she saw Nancy on the ground. The hand that had been holding the gun was stretched out in a pleading gesture and the woman was wrestling with several officers.

  “That was pretty stupid.” Detective Maese snapped at Anna. “You could have been killed. What the hell were you thinking?”

  “I was trying to do your job for you.” Anna smiled. “I couldn’t wait for another go around of not having enough evidence.”

  “Well, we have her confession now.” The detective frowned. “Don’t ever pull a stunt like this again or I’ll have to file charges against you.”

  “Noted.” Anna smiled.

  Watching the detective lead Nancy away in handcuffs brought a smile to her face. She turned and saw Mr. Puccio sitting there, looking at her. A big smile was on his face, a first for the normally grouchy man.

 

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