friend, he couldn’t very well refuse her request. She
followed him as he unlocked the back entrance door of his office and stepped
into the rear courtyard of the hotel. The warmth of the evening hit them like a
blast from a furnace. March was one of Ghana’s hottest months.
“We’ve drained it
and closed it down temporarily,” Edward explained to her as they approached the
pool. “We’re going to renovate it and make it only one meter deep the whole
length. I know you can drown even in a bathtub, but at least one has a better
chance of finding one’s footing if the pool isn’t too deep. I plan to put an
extra guard on duty to patrol at night.”
The area was
barricaded with bright red Keep Out tape, and without the allure of cool,
turquoise water, the pool was an uninviting crater. Its gradually increasing
depth was indicated along the sides to a maximum of 2.5 meters. The deck was constructed
of textured concrete ending on either side in varnished wood trellises mounted
with pool lights. Four chaises lounges and three sets of table-and-chairs,
shaded by umbrellas, were distributed around the deck. A bar with a shade
awning stood on the right hand side.
“Was she found
at the deep end?” Paula asked.
“Right,” Edward
answered. “Mr. Miedema, one of our guests, discovered the body when he came to
do his early morning laps.”
“He’s the one
who tried to revive her?”
“Yes, he did
CPR until a doctor we had staying here arrived and pronounced Heather dead.”
“Is the doctor still
around?”
“No, he checked
out the day before yesterday, I believe—went back to the UK.”
“What about
Mr. Miedema?”
“He’s staying
until next week Wednesday. If you’d like to talk to him after we leave from
here, we can check if he’s back from work. That’s his chalet over there. But
he’s one of our most valued guests, so please be diplomatic. What am I saying?
You are always diplomatic.”
Paula beamed at
her old friend. “Yes, I’d like to chat with him. And I will do my best not to
embarrass you.” She turned her gaze in the direction of his pointing finger. About
200 meters away, an earth-red, thatched cottage was nestled in a thicket of bougainvillea
bushes.
Returning her
attention to the pool, she noticed a large, partitioned blue-gray slab on the
roof of the structure that housed the bar. “Those look like solar panels.”
“They are,”
Edward said. “Mr. Miedema works for a solar installation company and he put in a
small system for us last year. The large enclosure at the right is the control
station containing the battery and the inverter.”
“Impressive,”
Paula said, trying to sound interested, but she was preoccupied with the haunting
image of Heather drowning and the vain attempts to revive her. She shuddered.
Naked and drunk? Impossible.
“Do you have
CCTV installed anywhere?” she asked Edward hopefully.
“Ah, if only,”
he said, shaking his head in regret. “I’m
going to have it put in now that this is happened. I’m sorry it’s too late for Heather.”
“She stayed on
the second floor of the hotel, correct?”
“Yes.
Two-sixteen.”
“I’m curious
whether anyone might have seen her go to the pool that night,” Paula said. “Has
anyone reported that to you?”
“No one has
said anything to that effect—not to me, at least. Behind the lobby, there’s a
private hallway for hotel guests that leads to a locked rear exit. It opens out
to the back garden and swimming pool. To get back in, they can use their hotel
keycard. So, very late at night when there are no guests around and there’s
only one attendant at the desk, she could have easily slipped out unobserved.”
“I see.” She
paused. “Edward, do you know of anyone who might have wanted to harm Heather?”
“Not at all,”
he said, looking mystified. “Everyone liked her and that’s why it’s hard to
imagine anyone hurting her, let alone killing. She was so friendly—maybe even
followed him as he unlocked the back entrance door of his office and stepped
into the rear courtyard of the hotel. The warmth of the evening hit them like a
blast from a furnace. March was one of Ghana’s hottest months.
“We’ve drained it
and closed it down temporarily,” Edward explained to her as they approached the
pool. “We’re going to renovate it and make it only one meter deep the whole
length. I know you can drown even in a bathtub, but at least one has a better
chance of finding one’s footing if the pool isn’t too deep. I plan to put an
extra guard on duty to patrol at night.”
The area was
barricaded with bright red Keep Out tape, and without the allure of cool,
turquoise water, the pool was an uninviting crater. Its gradually increasing
depth was indicated along the sides to a maximum of 2.5 meters. The deck was constructed
of textured concrete ending on either side in varnished wood trellises mounted
with pool lights. Four chaises lounges and three sets of table-and-chairs,
shaded by umbrellas, were distributed around the deck. A bar with a shade
awning stood on the right hand side.
“Was she found
at the deep end?” Paula asked.
“Right,” Edward
answered. “Mr. Miedema, one of our guests, discovered the body when he came to
do his early morning laps.”
“He’s the one
who tried to revive her?”
“Yes, he did
CPR until a doctor we had staying here arrived and pronounced Heather dead.”
“Is the doctor still
around?”
“No, he checked
out the day before yesterday, I believe—went back to the UK.”
“What about
Mr. Miedema?”
“He’s staying
until next week Wednesday. If you’d like to talk to him after we leave from
here, we can check if he’s back from work. That’s his chalet over there. But
he’s one of our most valued guests, so please be diplomatic. What am I saying?
You are always diplomatic.”
Paula beamed at
her old friend. “Yes, I’d like to chat with him. And I will do my best not to
embarrass you.” She turned her gaze in the direction of his pointing finger. About
200 meters away, an earth-red, thatched cottage was nestled in a thicket of bougainvillea
bushes.
Returning her
attention to the pool, she noticed a large, partitioned blue-gray slab on the
roof of the structure that housed the bar. “Those look like solar panels.”
“They are,”
Edward said. “Mr. Miedema works for a solar installation company and he put in a
small system for us last year. The large enclosure at the right is the control
station containing the battery and the inverter.”
“Impressive,”
Paula said, trying to sound interested, but she was preoccupied with the haunting
image of Heather drowning and the vain attempts to revive her. She shuddered.
Naked and drunk? Impossible.
“Do you have
CCTV installed anywhere?” she asked Edward hopefully.
“Ah, if only,”
he said, shaking his head in regret. “I’m
going to have it put in now that this is happened. I’m sorry it’s too late for Heather.”
“She stayed on
the second floor of the hotel, correct?”
“Yes.
Two-sixteen.”
“I’m curious
whether anyone might have seen her go to the pool that night,” Paula said. “Has
anyone reported that to you?”
“No one has
said anything to that effect—not to me, at least. Behind the lobby, there’s a
private hallway for hotel guests that leads to a locked rear exit. It opens out
to the back garden and swimming pool. To get back in, they can use their hotel
keycard. So, very late at night when there are no guests around and there’s
only one attendant at the desk, she could have easily slipped out unobserved.”
“I see.” She
paused. “Edward, do you know of anyone who might have wanted to harm Heather?”
“Not at all,”
he said, looking mystified. “Everyone liked her and that’s why it’s hard to
imagine anyone hurting her, let alone killing. She was so friendly—maybe even
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