Free To Free a Spy by Nick Ganaway Page B

Golden Touch’s success. Every day, thousands of sheets and towels had to be laundered and hundreds of rooms cleaned and restocked—and all before three p.m. How efficiently it was done made an impression on the guests, and how economically it was carried out affected the hotel’s operating cost. Frank had told her more than once that the Golden Touch outperformed the other Boardwalk hotels in those areas and always gave Maria the credit. Which of course made her work all the harder for this man she loved like a brother and respected so much. Frank’s murder would not change that for Maria.
    It was nine-fifteen when Maria’s phone rang for the hundredth time that morning. She picked it up without taking her eyes off of her computer monitor that listed checkouts.
    “Leonard Magliacci. Need a few minutes.”
    Maria took a deep breath. The hotel had been packed for a week and she didn’t have time to talk to anyone. The last person she wanted to see was Big Lenny, as those in her department referred to him. Although she had few direct dealings with him, she’d heard the occasional idle chatter among other managers that Frank had hired him as a favor to his sister and that he was nothing but a drain on Gallardi. To some, Big Lenny was laughing stock but Maria disliked his reputation too much to waste her own time even thinking about him.
    “Very busy.” She spoke with a slight accent.
    “Since it’s about my uncle’s estate I’d say it’s more important than whatever you’re doing.”
    Maria restrained herself. “Go ahead then.”
    “Not on the phone. Be there in a minute.”
    Maria went to the ladies’ room to check her starched white blouse and green blazer. She was fifty-seven now, and even though she didn’t care what Leonard Magliacci thought about anything, she took as much pride in her personal appearance as in her work. When she returned to her office Magliacci was seated behind her desk in her chair, which was too small for him. She wasn’t pleased about that, and she wondered if he would be able to get out of it.
    “What can I do for you, Mr. Magliacci?” She stood in front of her own desk, arms crossed behind her back.
    Lenny looked at some papers he’d brought, and Maria wondered if they were her employment records. “You been here since the hotel opened, right?”
    “Since day one. Yes.”
    He nodded toward another chair beside her desk. “You can sit down.”
    “I’ll stand. I’m sure you can see how busy we are,” she said, forcing a smile that was polite at best.
    He nodded. “Came across the name Karly in some of my uncle’s things. She was probably around the hotel several years ago. I think her last name was spelled with an A. Know her?”
    Maria looked away. Know her? Oh my God! I was all but a mother to the girl. Honey, when you gonna get outta this business?…Just a little longer, Maria, don’t worry…But I do worry. So many things can happen… . And those nights when Karly would call her late. Maria, I hurt so much. Could you come up here for a few minutes?…Oh, Dear God, it’s happened again. What’ve they done to you this time? I’ll be right there, Honey…. And that apartment deal with Frank! Karly, don’t be afraid to ask. Frank’s a businessman. He may give it to you. But, oh God, listen to me now. Here I am helping you do something I don’t even approve of… Oh, Maria, God knows where your heart is. He’s not going to punish you, too…. And those times when Karly wanted to talk. Maria, listen to what happened with this dude last night… Oh, Honey, I shouldn’t! But I guess it’s okay to listen to part of it…. And there was that Washington Big Shot she was seeing. Honey, that man’s trouble and you’re seeing too much of him… Oh, Maria, Jag’s the best thing I got going… Yeah, but he’s too powerful. Something tells me you should leave him alone… You sound like my grandmother, sometimes, Maria. Stop worrying so much…. And then there was