Chapter 7

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"Ms. Santos, I know you are probably still upset but I need to ask you some questions," Jack said in his usual cool tone.

"I understand," Lena Santos replied as a uniformed officer handed her a cup of coffee. She was in her mid-forties, had short dark brown hair and a light pale skin. She sat on a chair in another hotel suite, still wearing her gray and white maid uniform.

"According to the officers you reported finding her body at 7:29 pm tonight. That's kind of late to be cleaning, what were you doing in her room?"

"Turn-down service. She requested her bed be turned down at 7:15 pm every evening unless otherwise instructed but I was running late," Lena replied as she stared into her cup of coffee before putting it down on the table.

"Are you her regular maid?" he asked as he eyed the cup longingly, he really wanted one of his own.

"I'm the evening maid, yes. Tina Hayden works the day shift." Lena pulled a tissue out of her pocket and blew her nose.

He waited for her to finish before asking, "Did you ever meet Ms. Spade?"

"A few times." Lena's voice was filled with disdain.

Jack cocked an eyebrow and asked, "You didn't care for her?"

"I'm only a maid so I'm used to being ignored and people forgetting I'm in the room. Sometimes I hear things," she replied as she balled up the tissue in her hands.

"What kind of things?"

"It was a few nights ago," Lena began.

XXX

She knocked lightly on the door and said, "Turn down service."

Teri's voice yelled out, "Come in" so Lena entered. Teri is walking around the suite in a silk robe that barely covers her undergarments; both of which look very expensive. Besides telling the maid she could come in she ignores Lena's presence.

Lena starts walking towards the bedroom when Teri's cell phone rang and the young blonde crossed the room to pick it up. She tosses her hair as she checks the caller-ID and flips it open and irritably answers, "I thought I told you to leave me alone. We're through."

Lena stood by the bed and began pulling down the bed covers but her eyes are focused on Teri who is still on the phone, pacing the suite.

"Like I said, I've changed my mind. It's over." Teri's voice was mean and hard. "That's not my problem. It's my money now."

She walked over to the window and looked out at the view as she continued, "It's not my fault you didn't learn the first time. Don't ever call me again."

Teri turned off the phone and tossed it into the trash can. She gives a light, wicked laugh and walked to the bar to pour herself a drink. Lena who had been watching her the entire time promptly finished turning down the bed and starts for the door.

Drink in hand, Teri paced around the room, she looks like she is thinking and calculating. When she sees that Lena is about to leave she frowned and pointed to the trash can where she just tossed the phone. "You forgot to empty the trash."

"Yes, miss," Lena obediently replied. She walked over and removed the liner from the trash can and quickly exited the room.

XXX

"I don't like to speak ill of the dead but the way she was on the phone, she was not a nice woman," Lena finished.

"Did you throw away the cell phone?" Jack asked as he wrote down the information in his notepad.

Lena lowered her eyes and shamefully replied, "No, it was a disposable cell so I decided to keep it until the time ran out."

Thinking they may have caught a break he asked, "Do you still have it?"

"Yes," she guiltily replied. "It's downstairs in my locker."

"I'm going to need it," Jack said. She nodded her head and got up to go retrieve the cell.

As she walked away he thought about what she had said about Teri. If her description of Teri was accurate then perhaps she did become a true femme fatale after all.