Page 9 of The Girl Who Knew Too Much

To her chagrin, Oliver inclined his head once in acknowledgment of the counterattack.

“That’s all true,” he said. “However, I’m sure you understand thatthe policy against allowing journalists onto the grounds is part of the illusion. Obviously, if I did let them wander around the hotel, it would no longer appear exclusive.”

“It’s all about appearances, then?”

“It’s all about maintaining the illusion, Miss Glasson.”

“What do you want from me, Mr. Ward?”

He turned the whiskey glass absently between his fingers.

“Tonight a woman died in my hotel under mysterious circumstances,” he said. “You claim that you had an appointment with her in the spa. That appointment was at a rather late hour.”

“A quarter past midnight. And it didn’t strike me as a strange time at all. It made perfect sense. Your hotel was in full swing at that hour. The lounge was crowded. People were dancing, drinking heavily, and no doubt meeting other people’s spouses and lovers in various rooms and pool cabanas. Gloria Maitland had every reason to think that no one would notice her slipping off to the spa for an interview with a journalist.”

“You seem to have a somewhat jaded view of what goes on here at the Burning Cove.”

Irene gave him her best you-can-trust-me, everything-is-off-the-record smile. “Care to set me straight?”

“I never discuss the personal lives of my guests.”

“Of course not.”

“I would like to know what you expected to learn from Maitland.”

“We’re back to that, are we?”

“I’m afraid so.”

There was something implacable about Oliver Ward. Short of screaming for help, she did not see an easy way out of the situation. Given that he owned the hotel and paid the salaries of everyone who worked there, she was not certain that screaming for help would be of much use.

It occurred to her that there was another angle to consider, as well. If there was one thing she had learned in her short career atWhispers, it was that two could play the information game.

Trying to give the impression that she was willing to humor him, she sank deeper into her chair. The effect of languid grace was somewhat marred because she had to fumble with the oversized robe to make certain that it did not fall open. She was not wearing anything underneath. All of her clothes had been handed off to the housekeeping department for cleaning and drying.

To his credit, Oliver’s fierce eyes never once dropped below her face. Either he was a real gentleman or he was not attracted to women, she thought. Her feminine intuition told her that the latter was not the case.

She decided there was a third possibility—he simply wasn’t interested in her.

“You heard me answer all of Detective Brandon’s questions,” she said. “Gloria Maitland phoned me long-distance at my office in L.A. yesterday. I might add that she reversed the charges. My boss was not pleased with that.”

“You told Detective Brandon that Maitland was vague about why she wanted to speak to you, yet you made the long drive from Los Angeles to keep the appointment.”

“She assured me that the gossip she had for me was very hot. To be honest, Mr. Ward, I could use a good story. I’m relatively new atWhispers. I’m trying to make my mark. If I don’t come up with a solid headline soon, I might be looking for other employment. All I can tell you is that I went to the spa a little after midnight, just as Gloria Maitland instructed. She was dead at the bottom of the pool when I arrived.”

Oliver narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. “You said someone else was there.”

“Yes. I wasn’t sure at first but then I heard the footsteps. Someone was running toward me. That made me very nervous. I went into the water to avoid him. That’s it. I don’t know what else I can tell you.”

“You went into the water to avoid him.”

“Yes.”

“You told Detective Brandon that you weren’t sure if the other person was a man or a woman.”

“Sound echoes in your spa, Mr. Ward. Also, I couldn’t see anything clearly—just shadows. I can’t be absolutely certain whether it was a man or a woman who ran toward me. I have to admit I wasn’t paying close attention to the details.”

“But your first thought was that the other person was a man.”