Sudden Vacancies Read Online Free PDF Page B

trying to be completely self-reliant. She adamantly refused to attend any meetings-it seemed that most relied in faith in a higher being.
    “I think she’ll be okay. She does seem a little more fragile lately, and she has some dark circles underneath her eyes, but everyone’s been a little stressed out recently,” Andrew replied.
    Bruce didn’t disagree, and he admired Carla’s need to make sure she was pleasing those around her and not to fall into bad habits. After everything she’d been through, he wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t trust anyone farther than she could throw them. At only 5’3” tall, that wouldn’t be very far.
    Carla had made no secret of her past, hoping that by sharing her story maybe someone else would avoid having to learn the hard way. Unfortunately, there were always those few who made her feel unwelcome, and constantly waited for her to mess up.
    Andrew and Bruce were always worried about her. So much so, that there were times when Carla felt she was going to go insane from their overprotectiveness.
    “Well, I just think we should keep a closer watch over her,” Andrew suggested.
    Bruce huffed a laugh, “Don’t hold your breath on that one. She’s the most independent female I’ve ever run across.”
    “Really, don’t you think it’s a problem? Let’s be honest,” said Andrew, “You’d think that after a while someone would have a relapse.”
    Andrew nodded. He worried that at some point, Carla would encounter a situation, which triggered her to relapse and use drugs once again.
    “You know how a relapse works, right? Things usually go really well for a bit but as life gets harder, their resistance starts to breakdown to the point where they end up doing something to themselves—or to someone else.”
    Andrew looked up at Bruce sharply, as he registered the hint of accusation in Bruce’s last statement. “You’re not implying that Carla had…”
    Bruce quickly shook his head, “I didn’t say that. There’s absolutely no evidence to suggest that she or anyone who works for the hotel had anything to do with that guy’s death. I just wonder what she thinks about all of this. To my knowledge, she’s been really quiet on the subject and even forbade the kitchen staff to discuss it while working.”
    “I hadn’t heard that,” answered Andrew. “Mind you chefs have all sorts of strange rules. Keeping recipes locked in safes, refusing to serve someone wearing a tie, that sort of thing.”
    “Why don’t we just talk with her,” Bruce responded.
    Andrew nodded, “Finish your last set and I’ll head back to the kitchen and see if she wants to sit and chat for a bit. Things are starting to slow down now.”
    As Andrew headed back to the kitchen, his pager went off, and he spent the next several hours listening to various security companies present the latest and greatest technology to both he and Sandra. By the time he finished, the dinner rush had started. He and Bruce decided to wait around for her in the hotel bar, and left a message with the concierge for her to come find them when she was finished up for the night.
    As things would happen, she would be taken aside before they ever got a chance to talk with her.

Chapter 8
     
    That evening, someone became very ill on the tenth floor. A businessman, in his mid-thirties, started getting ill shortly after finishing a meal that included Ceviche, a dish of raw fish soaked in lime juice. The Ceviche had been delivered to his room. It was an hour before his symptoms appeared. The vomiting quickly became so severe; he dialed 911 and requested an ambulance come to the hotel.
    The responding paramedics immediately transported him to the nearest hospital where a series of tests were run to determine the cause of his sudden illness. The results came in a few hours later—the man had been poisoned by a particularly nasty toxin only found in raw fish, which had not been kept cold.
     
    *****
     
    “Carla, what happened?”