Free Elisabeth Crabtree - Pink Flamingo Hotel 01 - Death by Pink Flamingo by Elisabeth Crabtree Page A

click,” she said snapping her fingers near her ear.
    “Oh , so it was dark.” Jesse tilted his head to the side and regarded Danielle quizzically. “Dark enough that you couldn’t tell that Sylvia was being murdered, but light enough to know that Anna was strangling her with her bare hands?” He looked at Luke. “Strange, isn’t it?”
    The corner of Luke’s mouth went up for a second as he approached . “I think we’ll handle this from this point.”
    Jesse and I nodded automatically as Luke and Ryan led Danielle to the empty sunroom near the front door.
    I had just started to breathe a little freer when Luke suddenly turned around and pointed a finger at both of us. “Stay right here. We’re going to need to talk to you two.”
    Nodding, I watched as Danielle was ushered into the room. As soon as the door closed behind the detectives, I gripped Jesse’s hand, which had settled on my hip. “What happened?” I hissed.
    “I asked her about the necklace and then I made the mistake of telling her that you and I were together last night. She didn’t take the news well.”
    “No kidding.” I plastered a smile on my face as Victoria ran forward with a to-go box in one hand.
    She enveloped me in a one armed hug. “Oh, Anna, that was so horrible.” She pulled away. “I just can’t believe what I just saw.”
    “Neither can I,” Krista said with an irritated shake of her head. “You should have fired her the moment she started screeching. Gabriel would have had her out the door in seconds. Honestly, Anna, we need to talk. I think you’re in over your head.”
    “Nonsense,” Victoria said quickly. “What should Anna have done? Tackle her to the floor the moment she opened her mouth?”
    I watched as the young couple that Olivia had been checking in picked up their bags and ushered their children out the front door. While the out-of-towners, who had been on their way to the beach, made a U-turn and headed straight for the elevator. “It couldn’t have been any worse than what did happen.”
    “You are going to fire her, aren’t you?” Krista asked.
    “She’s in there talking to the police right now,” I replied, much more calmly than I thought I would. “Should I interrupt them?”
    Krista must have thought I was serious because she immediately shook her head. “No, I would wait until they leave. You don’t need another scene,” she said as a guest, who had been standing in line waiting to check in, turned around and walked out.
    “This is ridiculous. You didn’t kill Sylvia and as soon as she shows up, everyone will realize that.” Victoria took a deep breath before giving me a lopsided grin. “Well, look at the bright side. The press isn’t here this time.” She glanced at her watch and frowned. “I’m sorry, I’ve got to go back to work. I only have ten minutes to meet a client across town.”
    “I thought you were having lunch here,” I said.
    She shrugged. “The mystery of the missing necklace took up too much time. Besides, I think my lunch date is a bit busy right now. Don’t worry, Anna, Luke’s pretty smart. He’s not going to fall for Danielle’s lies. Besides, you have me. I’ll put in a good word for you.”
    “Thanks,” I said giving her a hug.
    “I have my cell phone,” she said. “If anything happens, give me a call.”
    “Me too,” Krista said. Her expression softened as she reached out to give me a hug. “Victoria is right. No one’s going to believe Danielle. It was obvious she was lying, but if anything happens, call me and I’ll call Gabriel’s lawyer. We’ll have you out by the end of the day. We might be able to turn this around to your benefit.”
    Victoria shrugged. “You know what they say, any publicity is good publicity.”
    “That’s not always true, but …” Krista’s expression turned crafty. “You could come out ahead on all this. Let me do some thinking. When they release you from jail, we’ll talk.”
    “Hmm, s omething to