Chapter 53

"So, what's all this about?" Sharon asked as she looked at the two sisters. They were sitting opposite her at a little café, their posture relaxed but their eyes intent.

"I'll put it straightforwardly," said Liz. "We know that the hotel was being used as a base for drug trafficking. And we know who's behind it, as well."

Sharon shrugged. "So, you found out," she said. "Well, I suppose you were bound to in the end."

"And we need your help," said Liz. "We want to bring Jimmy to justice; of course we do. But the main thing is to save Ruby."

"It's a bit late for that."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Do you know that Jimmy is no longer keeping her prisoner?"

"Yes, we know that," said Liz. "But I still don't believe the situation is hopeless."

"How come?"

"If we can get Jimmy to co-operate with us…."

Sharon let out a snort of laughter. "Jimmy? Co-operate?" she said. "Do you really know any of what you're talking about?"

Liz smiled. "If there's anything you think we still need to know," she said, "feel free to fill us in."

"I'll need another coffee."

Leanne went to order drinks while Liz sat and patiently waited for Sharon to talk.

"You've seen what the hotel is like," she said. "It was set up as a paradise on earth. Nothing could ever go wrong – the absence of locks, safeguards, even a manager was used as a selling-point. Of course, it was only the extremely rich who were allowed to enter. The hotel made money by turning people away."

Liz narrowed her eyes. "Chesterton made that observation in 'The Queer Feet'," she noted.

"I'm impressed," said Sharon. "I'll have to apologise to your colleague after all."

"Go on with the story."

"Very well," said Sharon. "Perhaps you've already guessed what was wrong with this paradise, what infected the whole place like a cancer. It was deathly boring! There was nothing to do except chat with people who had no opinions and no interests, who'd come there to get away from a world they weren't interested in belonging to. Of course there were drugs. I doubt there was anyone there who hadn't used them."

"And Jimmy and Ruby?"

"Well, there you have it," said Sharon. "They were both new to the world of celebrity and riches, both unprepared. That was the beginning of the whole tragedy."

"What do you mean?"

"Ruby wasn't exactly very happy when she found out what was going on in the hotel."

"And so the staff conspired to spirit her away, and divert inquiries by pretending she had been staying in a non-existent room."

"It's not quite like that," said Sharon. "She was shocked, but she was never going to kick up a storm about it in public. She was no danger. On the other hand – let's just say the staff weren't disagreeable to the idea of getting rid of her, once it was suggested – for a suitable bribe."

"And what was Jimmy's motive?"

"Don't you know?"

"I can guess," said Liz. "Jimmy was badly in need of money, wasn't he? His new-found fame was opening up new dreams to him, but he needed a lot more money to realise them. He had a great ambition and self-belief, and thought that if he could just get past this hurdle, worldwide fame and recognition would his."

"That's pretty much it," said Sharon. "He was into it deep. He started to use the hotel as a base for trafficking drugs outside."

"And it was he, and not Ruby, who was being blackmailed for that?"

"It would have been the end of him it he'd been found out."

"Yes, that makes sense," said Liz. "And so Ruby had to disappear. She was spending their money too freely, because she didn't know about the trouble he was in. But she couldn't help noticing that money was disappearing, and she was asking awkward questions. And she had already been shocked by discovering drugs in the hotel – Jimmy knew that if she found out about his little sideline, she would have squealed on him."

"Exactly."

"Well, I'm glad it's out in the open at last," said Liz. "Now let's put our heads together and decide what we're going to do about it."