“I’m not sure,” May admitted. “It definitely means something, though. The money is a message. It has significance to the killer.”
What significance? Owen wondered. Finding out would be crucial. It would enable them to solve this crime. Leaving a message meant the kills were being made for a reason. But what reason?
May walked back to the suite’s main door where the receptionist was waiting, looking nervous. Owen followed her, glad to get out of the bathroom.
“Have you or the house guests seen anyone suspicious around here? Anyone sneaking around in the lodge, or on the grounds?” May asked the receptionist. “Any guests who checked out suddenly?”
“No. We confirmed this with security as soon as the body was found. We had a look at the camera footage from the gate, and our security guards are patrolling the perimeter in golf carts as we speak. No one else has seen anything so far.”
“We will need to get all the footage from the security cameras,” May said.
“That’s no problem. But I hope it gets you results. You see, we do think that someone could have gotten into the estate on foot and left again, undetected. We have walkways and paths, horse riding trails, and mountain biking trails that leave the estate and traverse the wider area.”
Owen nodded. With grounds so large and an on-site golf course, there were going to be numerous opportunities for a killer to simply walk off site and head back to a vehicle parked elsewhere.
“What’s the victim’s name?” May asked Owen quietly. “They gave us her check-in details a few minutes ago, so let’s have a look. Even though it’s miles away from the Lakeside Heights hotel, perhaps there’s a connection somewhere.”
Owen thought that was a good question. They had been so focused on examining the scene, and then picking up the shocking similarities between the crimes, they hadn’t yet had time to look at the identity of the victim. But that was important. Perhaps there was a link that would take them further.
Owen opened the piece of paper they had been given.
“It says here the victim is—” He paused, shocked. Then he read the page again just in case he’d gotten it wrong.
“May, look here!” he said.
She moved closer, staring down at the page.
“This might be a coincidence. But it says here that this guest’s name is Madeline Reed.”
May was clearly as puzzled by the name as Owen was.
“Reed?” she said to Owen in a soft, incredulous voice.
“It can’t be!” he whispered back. “Surely just a coincidence?”
Owen was totally confused. Was there a link between this woman and the obnoxious tycoon who’d recently hustled them out of his penthouse? If so, why was she staying here, in a hotel that wasn’t owned by Reed Leisure?
“We need to find out urgently whether there is a connection,” May said. “If there proves to be one, it puts these crimes into a whole new light.”