Chapter Twenty-Seven
Tristan
I was in my office, discussing the situation with Ben when Molly walked in. Her expression was serious but calm, and I wondered how she felt about the whole thing.
“Tristan, Ben,” she said, addressing both of us. “I need to talk to you.”
“Where is Alani?” Ben asked.
“I asked her to sit outside for a moment,” she replied. “I wanted to talk to the two of you first.”
I came forward. “You spoke to Alani?”
“I did,” she nodded.
“And?” I asked. “What’s her story?”
“Her story is simple,” Molly replied. “She didn’t do it. And, I believe her.”
Her conviction made me believe, too, and I let out a little sigh of relief. However, Ben looked skeptical. “We need more than just your word,” he reminded both of us. “We need proof.”
“She’s been framed,” Molly said.
Ben and I exchanged a glance. “Framed?” I repeated.
“Someone planted the choker in her room.”
“Hold on,” Ben said, holding his hands up. “You mean, she’s admitting to you that she actually has the choker.”
“She has,” Molly nodded.
I felt my belief slip away in light of the new information, and I looked at Molly carefully. “Molly,” I said gently. “Do you think that maybe you’re letting your friendship with Alani cloud your judgment a little?”
“No, I’m not,” Molly insisted. “I know Alani. She wouldn’t do something like this. She wouldn’t risk her job for a chain.”
“It’s a valuable piece of jewelry,” Ben pointed out.
“So the Beaumonts say,” Molly said. “Personally, I don’t buy it.”
“What makes you so sure they’re trying to frame Alani?” Ben asked. “What’s their motive?”
“Mr. Beaumont certainly has a motive,” she said. “Revenge.”
“Revenge?” I repeated. “For what?”
“For the fact that Alani rejected him repeatedly,” Molly explained.
“He was hitting on her?” I asked.
“It was sexual abuse, plain and simple,” she said firmly. “He had her come up to his suite while his wife was out, then he grabbed her and kissed her. He might have done more had Mrs. Beaumont not walked in and interrupted him.”
“His wife saw all this?”
“Alani told me he backed off before the door opened,” Molly said. “The likelihood is that she didn’t see… If anything, she only suspects. She should know her husband is a sleazeball by now, though.”
I looked towards Ben. “What do you think?” I asked. “Does it sound plausible that Mr. Beaumont might be framing Alani?”
“He’s rich, and men like him don’t handle rejection well,” he said. “It’s possible.”
“Mr. Beaumont tried to woo Alani,” Molly continued. “He cornered her by the pool one day and offered her the choker as a gift. Alani saw it as the bribe it was and turned him down. That was two days ago.”
“And then she discovered the choker in her drawers?” I asked.
“Yes,” Molly nodded.
“It could still be a story,” Ben pointed out.
Molly turned to Ben with fire in her eyes. “You know Alani,” she said. “Do you really think she’s capable of theft?”
He avoided eye contact for a moment. “I don’t… She doesn’t seem like the type.”
“Because she’s not,” Molly said strongly. “You need to show the people who work under you that they’re valued, that they won’t just be dismissed because it’s easier than standing up to a guest. Alani didn’t come to you or Tristan—or me for that matter—because she was scared we would take their side over hers. Because she’s dispensable to us and they’re not.”
I watched Molly’s fire and felt a surge of pride and respect for the woman she was. “We need to check the cameras,” I said, jumping into action.
“Not the resort surveillance system,” Molly said, stepping towards my desk.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I’m talking about your own personal surveillance system,” Molly said. “The one that only the three of us know about. You have the feed.”
“Yes, but I don’t watch it,” Tristan said. “I added it on as an extra precaution, but I don’t have the time to filter through it every day.”
“Nor do you have to,” Molly said. “Until something like this happens. The whole resort will know about the surveillance system; most guests will assume there is one in place, too. Whoever planted the choker in Alani’s room will have been able to bypass the cameras if they were careful. But no one knows about your personal surveillance system.”
I nodded, as I turned on my computer and turned on the live feed. “This would have happened in the last two days?”
“Yes,” Molly nodded. “I’m going to let Alani in; hold on.”
A few moments later, Alani entered the room looking sad and extremely nervous. I gave her a reassuring smile. “Why don’t you sit down, Alani?”
She returned my smile tentatively and sat down opposite me. I kept filtering through the feed, rewinding and stopping as I went while Molly explained what we were trying to do.
“There’s another surveillance system in place?” Alani asked in surprise.
“It was put in place to check the staff,” Ben explained. “Oftentimes staff can bypass the cameras if they’re familiar enough with the positions. Tristan decided that it would come in handy one day.”
“And, I think it just did,” I said as I paused on a blurry image of a man right outside Alani’s door. “Alani, can you come here and ID this man for me, please?”
Alani walked around to stand behind my shoulder, and Molly did the same. As Alani’s eyes hit the screen, they went wide with shock.
“What is it?” Molly asked, noticing her reaction.
“I… It’s… That’s Simon,” Alani said.
“Simon?” Ben said, walking around to look at the screen.
“One of the waiters?” I asked.
“Yes,” Molly nodded. “He works between the Lagoon and Mosaic.”
“He planted the necklace in my room?” Alani said. “But…”
“He was obviously bribed,” Ben said. “Someone paid him to do it.”
“And, we all know exactly who that someone is,” I said, standing up. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?” Ben asked.
“To the Beaumonts’ suite,” I said. “Ben, have someone bring Simon up to their suite, as well. We’re going to handle this head on.”
Molly seemed to know exactly what I was thinking and gave me an encouraging smile. I noticed Alani, still staring at the screen.
“Alani,” I said.
“Yes, Mr. Dubois?”
“You’re a loyal employee,” I said. “And, you’ve been doing great work at the resort. I want you to know that as long as I’m in charge, I will always protect my employees.”
She looked at me with obvious relief. “Thank you, sir.”
“Please,” I said. “Call me Tristan.”
I walked out with Molly, and I could see the admiration and pride on her face. She was looking at me as though I were her hero, and for some reason that made me oddly uncomfortable. When we got to the Beaumonts’ suite, I knocked hard, and a moment later the door swung open.
Mrs. Beaumont was a skinny woman with white blonde hair and a forehead that didn’t move. She was wearing an all-white ensemble, and her lips were painted a shocking red. Her eyes widened when she saw me.
“Mr. Dubois,” she said. “I didn’t expect to find you at my door.”
“Is your husband here, Mrs. Beaumont?” I asked.
“He is,” she nodded. “Have you come about the matter with the maid who stole my choker?”
“Uh…she’s not a maid,” I corrected. “She’s a manager at the resort. And yes, I have come to discuss that matter. This is Molly; she’s head of human resources here.”
Mrs. Beaumont gave Molly a curt nod and held the door open for both of us to pass through. Mr. Beaumont was lying on the couch, stuffing his face with a bag of chips from the mini bar. I tried to control my expression of disgust as I faced him.
“Mr. Beaumont,” I said as he straightened up. “I’ve come about the matter with the choker.”
“Have you found it?” he asked.
“We have,” I nodded.
“It was in the little Hawaiian tart’s room, wasn’t it?” Mrs. Beaumont asked.
I was surprised at the venom in her tone, and immediately, alarm bells went off. “It was in her room,” I nodded. “Yes.”
Mrs. Beaumont looked a little too pleased for my liking. “If you fire her immediately, I will refrain from going to the police.”
I smiled pleasantly at her. “I was going to make a different suggestion. If you leave my resort immediately, I will refrain from going to the police.”
“Excuse me?” Mrs. Beaumont’s face changed instantly.
“The choker was found in Ms. Kama’s room,” Molly interjected. “But we know that someone planted it there.”
“That’s nonsense,” Mrs. Beaumont said immediately.
“You’ll find that it’s not,” I said, just as we heard another knock on the door.
Molly went to answer it, and a few seconds later, Ben walked in with Simon in tow. Simon was looking exceptionally guilty, and the truth was plastered across his face. When I glanced at Mrs. Beaumont, I saw that despite her calm exterior, she had turned pale.
“Simon,” I said, stepping forward. “We have footage of you sneaking into Alani’s room yesterday. You planted a diamond choker in her drawer in order to frame her.”
“I… No… Sir…”
“I will have to inform the police about this,” I told him. “But this will all go a lot easier for you if you confess the truth. Now.”
“I didn’t—”
“We have you on camera, Simon,” Molly said, stepping forward. “We have all the proof we need. What we don’t have is a motive. Why would you take the whole blame for someone else? Please, tell me what happened.”
Simon looked at her for a second and then his panic won out. “My mother is sick,” he said desperately. “She needs an operation, and I needed the money… Mrs. Beaumont offered me a thousand dollars if I did what she asked.”
“Mrs. Beaumont,” I said, turning to the pale-faced woman.
“You fucking idiot,” Mrs. Beaumont looked livid. “Shut your damn mouth.”
Simon was sobbing quietly, and Mr. Beaumont was looking at his wife as though she had just grown a second head. “I had nothing to do with this.”
“Don’t even bother,” I said bitingly, and then I turned back to Mrs. Beaumont. “I don’t understand; why did you want to frame Alani?”
“The whore was fucking my husband—”
“She was doing no such thing,” Molly said, cutting in. “She was trying desperately to avoid your husband’s inappropriate advances. She should press charges and have him convicted of sexual assault.”
“What proof does she have?” Mr. Beaumont demanded.
“We have footage of you offering Alani that choker,” Molly informed him. “The same choker that your wife planted in her room to frame her.”
“I should go to the police,” I said. “Both of you deserve to go to jail. But I suppose it’s enough to know that you deserve each other. I want you out of my resort in the next hour.”
“I want my choker back,” Mrs. Beaumont called out.
Ben produced the choker from his jacket pocket. “You can have it back,” he said, handing it over. “It’s not even worth a thousand dollars, let alone a million.”
“Ben,” I said. “You can supervise their departure. Simon, follow me.”
He followed Molly and me out the door. We went back to my office, and just as we were about to enter, Molly stopped me.
“Tristan,” she said, whispering so that Simon wouldn’t be able to hear. “What are you going to do with him?”
“I’m going to check his story first,” I said. “I’m going to make sure his sick mother is real… If she’s just a fabrication to justify his part in all this, then I’m going to fire him immediately.”
“And if it turns out to be true?”
“Then I’m going to suspend him for a few weeks without pay,” I said. “And…pay for his mother’s operation.”
I saw it again—that awed, proud look in Molly’s eyes. It was like I was really her hero. And while a part of me was thrilled to have earned her love and respect, another part of me was worried. What if things didn’t work out between us? Would she still want to work with me? Would she still look at me like I was her hero?
Or would she start seeing me differently, would she start seeing me, as I really was: a mortal man who was nobody’s hero?