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

She wrapped her arms around Jesse’s neck and pulled him into a kiss. I sucked in my breath as a wave of jealously hit me hard. I wanted to turn away. I needed to.
    “You think he’s deep enough?” Ryan asked from somewhere at my feet.
    “What?” I asked, finally tearing myself away from the scene by the pool.
    “Felix. Do you think I have him in deep enough?”
    I cleared my throat. “Sure. That looks good.” I glanced back into the pool area. Danielle and Jesse were standing a few feet apart. Danielle didn’t seem happy. To my surprise, she reached up and slapped Jesse on the cheek before pushing him into the pool and angrily striding out into the hallway.
    “Maybe you should cha in him to the wall or something,” Ryan said.
    “I’m sorry, what?” I asked, swinging my attention back down.
    Ryan patted Felix’s head before standing up and smiling. “Cement would probably work the best.” He pulled his t-shirt away from his body as he glanced into the window. “That pool looks good. Well, it’s been great seeing you again, Anna, but I better collect my partner before Victoria eats him alive. If you have any more trouble, just give us a call,” he said, before walking out of the garden.
    As soon as Ryan disappeared around the corner, I turned back to the pool. I jumped back in surprise. Jesse was standing at the window looking out at me. He pushed his wet, sandy blond hair back away from his face and smiled shyly at me.
    “Wh at is it doing back here?” Sylvia stood at the edge of the garden near the gate. She placed her hands on her hips. “It’s always been out near the boardwalk. That’s the way your uncle wanted it.” She glanced over her shoulder at the young man standing behind her and shook her head in disgust.
    I brought up my hand to shield my eyes from the sun. The man behind her was wearing one of our pink hotel shirts and khaki shorts, but I had no clue as to who he was.
    Sylvia nodded to the man behind her and with a frown said, “Go pick that flamingo up.”
    I held up my hand, stopping the man in his tracks. “Sylvia, let’s just keep Felix where he is until we can find a more permanent solution for him. We can’t keep chasing those kids around town. Hopefully, they won’t find him back here.”
    Sylvia seemed ready to argue with me, but she must have thought better of it. Instead, she threw up her hands and turned away, muttering under her breath.
    The young man pulled his shoulder length, brown hair away from his face. “So, I’m going? Not going? What do you want me to do, lady?”
    “I’m sorry , who are you?”
    “ Blake. I’m the new gardener.” He stuck his hands into the pockets of his khaki shorts. “Miss Sylvia hired me a few minutes ago,” he declared proudly. “So, do you want the flamingo moved or not?”
    New gardene r? What happened to the old one? “Not right now, thank you.”
    “Suit yourself, ” Blake said. With a half-hearted shrug, he turned away and disappeared around the corner of the building.
    I glanced back at the window and looked into an empty poolroom.
     
    * * *
     
    After searching the hotel for Jesse and coming up empty, I decided to look for Sylvia. I finally found her in the dining room, instructing a couple of our servers on the correct way to make a swan out of a napkin. She took one look at me, dropped the napkin she was holding onto the table and turned toward the kitchen.
    “ Sylvia, we need to talk.”
    “About what ?” she asked innocently, as she pushed open the kitchen door. She let it slam back as she walked through, catching me on the arm.
    I groaned as my broken watch fell to the floor. “What happened to the gardener?” I asked, bending to retrieve the piece of jewelry. Realizing it was beyond hope, I tossed it into the garbage can.
    Sylvia looked into the trash with a mixture of horror and disgust. “What are you doing?” She reached in and fished out the watch. She held it under my nose. “Didn’t your Uncle Max