A Pour Way to Dye (Book 2 in the Soapmaking Mysteries) Read Online Free PDF

to get away from him.
    He unlocked the door to the Elderberry Suite
and said, “Happy? You’ve got five minutes.”
    I stepped inside, then called out, “Hang on a
second. You made a mistake.”
    “ What are you talking
about?” he asked as he came into the room.
    “ This one’s empty,” I
said.
    “ That’s what my wife told
you,” he replied, starting to leave again.
    I wasn’t finished, though. “Then where’s his
luggage? That bed hasn’t been slept in, and there’s nothing of his
here.”
    “ It’s pretty clear, isn’t
it? The old man is gone, but he forgot to tell anybody he was
leaving.” He tapped his wrist-watch. “You’ve got five minutes. When
you’re through, I’ll have his bill ready and we can settle up at
the front desk.”
    He slammed the door behind him. I searched
the room, but if Paulus had left anything behind, I couldn’t find
it. There was a notepad by the telephone, but it was blank as far
as I could tell. I checked all of the pages anyway, but there was
nothing there. Or was there? I held the top sheet to the lamp and
studied the heavy impressions on it. My grandfather had a firm hand
when he wrote, and I knew in the past he’d torn a letter or two
signing his name with such force. Grabbing a pencil from the table,
I lightly brushed the sheet with its edge, hoping to leave a
graphite trail. There was a telephone number there, faint but
unmistakable. I dialed the number, but there was no answer. I had
hoped that when the machine picked up, I’d at least be able to tell
who I was calling, but an electronically generated voice invited me
to leave a message, which I chose not to do. I scribbled the number
down and tucked the paper in my pocket, swept through the room one
last time, then left to go downstairs.
    Jeff was waiting for me there, a bill in his
hands. “We take cash, checks, or credit cards,” he said as he
pushed the invoice into my hands. I looked at the total and
couldn’t believe it. There were six nights of charges there, close
to a thousand dollars altogether. I shoved the bill back into his
chest. “I’m not paying that.”
    “ Then I’ll see you in court.
Bring your fancy lawyer with you; we’ve dealt with deadbeats
before.”
    I protested, “Your wife told me herself that
he hasn’t even been here the past three days.”
    The big man shrugged. “He didn’t check out,
and I couldn’t rent the room until he did, so you owe me the
money.”
    “ Give me a second,” I said
as I took out my cell phone and called my mother. She was the one
in charge of our finances, and if I charged something that she
didn’t approve, I knew full well she’d dock me for it and take it
out of my salary.
    When I got her on the line, I said, “We’ve
got a situation I need your help with,” I said.
    “ What did you find out? Can
he put that fence there?”
    I’d forgotten all about the blockade. “I’m
still not sure. This is about Paulus. He’s been staying in a bed
and breakfast in Sassafras Ridge, but they haven’t seen him in
three days.”
    There was a short pause, then she asked, “Do
you think something’s happened to him?”
    “ That’s what I’m trying to
find out. In the meantime,” I added, lowering my voice, “they want
me to pay his bill. It’s nearly a grand for six days’
stay.”
    “ So pay it,” she said
abruptly.
    “ What? You can’t be serious.
The woman who runs the place admitted to me that he hasn’t even
been here for three days. This is extortion.” I couldn’t believe my
mother was folding to the pressure so easily when she fought for
every dime when it came to our bottom line.
    “ Your grandfather’s a big
boy,” she said. “Pay the bill. If he has a problem with it, he can
dispute it himself. Otherwise, I’ll pull it out of his partners’
account.” She sounded almost gleeful about the prospect.
    “ Are you sure this is the
best way to handle it?” The last thing I wanted was to get in the
middle of another