Elisabeth Crabtree - Pink Flamingo Hotel 01 - Death by Pink Flamingo Read Free

with Victoria, but she was far more interested in exchanging looks with Ryan’s partner to notice me. I couldn’t exactly blame her. Ryan, as handsome as he was, and he was, with his boy-next-door good looks, dark brown hair and light grey eyes, sort of paled in comparison next to his partner, Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome himself.
    “ I want those hoodlums arrested,” Sylvia said, obviously oblivious to the man’s finer attributes.
    Ryan pulled his light blue t-shirt away from his chest and blew out his breath. “Did you get a good look at them this time?”
    “There were three or four of them,” Sylvia said. “All teenagers and they were wearing bathing suits.”
    The new detective’s eyebrows rose. “Can you describe them in a little more detail?”
    Finally noticing Ryan’s partner, Sylvia gave him a once over. Her lips curled in distaste. “Who are you?”
    Ryan held out his hand. “Sorry, I should have made the introductions. This is my partner, Detective Luke Casey.”
    Sylvia eyed the new guy suspiciously. “I don’t know you. You’re new, aren’t you?”
    Luke smiled reassuringly. “I’m not that new. I’ve been here in Hatter’s Cove for four months. We met briefly after Mr. Hart’s accident. Remember?”
    Sylvia ’s face twisted into a scowl. “You’ve only been a detective for four months?”
    “ No, before I moved here, I was a detective in Miami.”
    “ I didn’t ask for your life story,” she snapped.
    Victoria took that opportunity to pounce. She sidled up to the detective and smiled brightly. “I would love to hear more.”
    Luke glanced down at Victoria, his eyes lighting up slightly before refocusing his attention on Sylvia. “Where are your security camera s? Maybe one of them caught the kids taking it.”
    I ducked my head and stifled a moan . Security cameras were another source of contention between my partner and me. Sylvia had strong views about installing the cameras and was not shy about sharing her views. Not shy at all , I thought, as she launched into a mini tirade against prying into other people’s affairs.
    “ I’m not a spy and I refuse to become one. As long as it’s not illegal, it’s no one’s business who stays here or what they do when they get here,” Sylvia said, hopefully, coming to the end of her rant.
    Luke, his eyes still wide, said, “Well, it’s not about spying. It’s more a question of security. Your guest’s and yours.”
    “We’ re still considering the issue,” I said tactfully.
    “We don’t need cameras ,” Sylvia said through gritted teeth. “Your Uncle Max didn’t think we needed them and I don’t either. I don’t want a bunch of wires lying about or nosy people,” she said, looking pointedly at Luke, “asking to see the tapes or whatever. The hotel has been in operation for almost a hundred years without them and everything has been fine. Besides, I know exactly what those little troublemakers look like. They were teenagers and they wore bathing suits.”
    I glanced toward the beach. There had to have been a couple dozen teenagers out there this afternoon. Even more were milling about on the boardwalk. Detective Casey must have thought the same thing. “Can you tell us anything more?” He asked gently. “Like how tall they were or—?”
    “It’s not my job to figure out who they are. You’re the detective. You figure it out.” Sylvia shook her finger in his face. “And don’t let them come back here. Now, I have to get ready for her birthday party,” she spat out in Victoria’s direction, “that someone in her infinite wisdom thought we should host right before reopening,” she said in my direction. “So you’re just going to have to handle this on your own,” she said, waving her hand dismissively toward Detective Casey. With that, she turned around and made a beeline for the hotel.
    Luke snapped his notebook shut. “Oh, she has a lovely personality.”
    Victoria nodded enthusiastically. Although I