Page 14 of The Girl Who Knew Too Much

“Strikes me the same way.”

“Well, you’re usually damned good at reading people.”

“I’ve been known to make mistakes,” Oliver reminded him grimly.

“True, but I think that in this case the odds are excellent that you’re right.” Chester read some more of the article. “Says here that the hotel management is expected to go to great lengths to suppress any whisper of murder in order to avoid a scandal.”

“Strangely enough, I don’t think she believed me when I told her that I intend to find out exactly what happened to Maitland.”

Chester tossed the paper aside. “Miss Glasson doesn’t know you very well.”

“No,” Oliver said, “she doesn’t.”

“As if you’d let someone get away with murder right here on the grounds of your own hotel.”

“Damn right. The Burning Cove doesn’t set a very high bar when it comes to the behavior expected of its guests, but management does frown on murder.”

“Got to have some standards,” Chester said.

“Right. Besides, murder is bad for business.”

“When the Amazing Oliver Ward Show was touring, we used to say that any publicity was good publicity so long as it mentioned the next appearance.”

“We’re not on the road anymore.”

Chester took off his spectacles and began to polish the lenses with a large handkerchief. “No one’s got a better eye for detail than you do.Part of what made you a good magician. What do you think happened in that spa chamber last night?”

“I took another look around this morning. It’s just barely possible that Gloria Maitland slipped on the tiles at the edge of the pool and somehow managed to hit the back of her head and tumble into the water, but I doubt that’s what happened. The angle of the blow makes it a lot more likely that she was struck from behind. Probably knocked out cold. I’d say that she fell into the water and drowned.”

“So she was murdered.”

“That’s what it looks like.”

Chester’s bushy gray brows climbed. “Any chance it was the reporter lady who did it?”

“If I were a cop, I’d consider Miss Glasson an excellent suspect. She admitted that she had a private late-night meeting with the victim. Also, she’s strong for a woman. She could have overpowered Gloria Maitland.”

“What makes you say Glasson is strong?”

“She was able to swim across the pool fully dressed. Granted, she had the sense to get rid of her shoes first; still, swimming in a pair of women’s trousers wouldn’t have been easy. Lot of heavy fabric. Then she managed to haul herself up out of the water when she reached the opposite side. There was something else, as well.”

“What?”

“She had a large handbag. Looked a bit like a small version of a doctor’s medical bag.”

“What about it? Women usually carry a handbag.”

“She hurled it across the lap pool before she went into the water.”

“Huh.” Chester reflected briefly. “You think it’s odd that she didn’t just drop the handbag when she kicked off her shoes, don’t you?”

“I think there was something very important inside that handbag.”

“Money, probably, as well as the usual fripperies women carry around.”

“Whatever it was, it was so important that she made a point of tryingto save it before she went into the water.” Oliver paused, thinking. “It looked heavy.”

“The handbag?” Chester grimaced. “In my experience the average woman’s bag is as heavy as one of my tool kits. Anything else strike you?”