‘Of course.’
Lee stood up and looked relieved to be getting out of the conference room. He led her towards reception then behind the main desk and through a curtain which led to a storeroom. At the back, he took her through a door, and they stepped into a cool and dark concrete corridor. He pointed either way.
‘That goes to the pool. That goes to the stairs and bedrooms.’
‘Let’s go this way.’ She indicated the stairs. They passed old fridges, cupboards, storage boxes, piles of clothes and laundry bins, as well as other doors leading to various rooms. Lee opened each one for her. Finally, they came to some stairs, and he led the way.
They went up to the first floor and he showed her the way out to the guest area then they carried on to the second floor and he took her out onto the landing. She stared at the atrium lip, where Jamie Robbins had gone over. Then she retraced her steps behind the wall, down the stairs and turned towards the garden at the bottom, instead of the reception. It led to a fire exit.
‘This isn’t alarmed,’ she said.
‘No, it never has been,’ Lee confirmed.
She went outside and saw that the door led to the staff carpark.
‘Do you have CCTV covering this area?’
‘No, I don’t think so,’ he said.
‘Would you know if somebody random, who wasn’t on your staff and whom you didn’t know, parked up here in your staff carpark, came in through this entrance, spent time in the hotel and left? Is there any way of knowing who comes and goes through here?’
He didn’t answer straight away. She could tell that he was figuring out if he could put a square peg in a round hole. In the end he admitted what she suspected.
‘No.’
‘That’s what I feared. Is there CCTV at the front?’
‘Yes, but I don’t think it works. It’s one of those fake ones, I think.’
‘That’s not helpful, is it?’
‘We don’t get trouble here; it’s just a decoy.’
‘Maybe you should rethink that.’
‘You don’t think it was suicide, do you?’ Lee asked her. ‘You know he tried to tell me something before he died.’
She stopped walking and looked at him. They’d gone outside and she was peering under cars and kicking leaves, hoping to find evidence of somebody loitering out here.
‘What did he tell you?’
‘I don’t know. I said he tried. I couldn’t understand him. He whispered something to me; it was two words, like a name, but it could also have been something else.’
‘Did he move his mouth?’
‘Yes, he was staring right at me. God it was horrible. This gurgle came out of his throat and he said two words, but I just can’t get them fully formed in my head. I’m sorry, I had no idea what he was saying. Then he stopped moving.’
Lee looked down at his hands. He looked utterly helpless. Kelly put a hand on his shoulder.
‘I’m sorry you had to go through that. It must have been awful for you. You did all you could. I’ve been told you kept everyone calm. Come on, let’s go back inside. Did you get to know any other delegates?’
‘Is that a euphemism, Detective?’
She smiled. ‘It wasn’t actually, but if you did, this is the time to tell me.’
‘I didn’t sleep with anyone else, but I think I got a good impression of their characters over the four days. They put on this pally façade as if they love life and preach wellness and kindness but in reality, they’re all after the killer deal. They’d stab anyone in the back to get the next bestselling product.’
The detective stared at him. ‘Thank you for your insight. And your honesty. It’s valuable.’
