Born Innocent by Christine Rimmer Page A

behind the check-in desk.
    When Claire had finished the call to Ella, she told Joe, “I can’t think of anyone else to call... except the sheriff’s office.”
    Joe, who was standing by the window, said nothing.
    She explained, “I think I should report the gun missing, Joe. I really do. Because... Joe, I really am innocent. I really didn’t shoot him. I swear it.”
    “ All right,” Joe said quietly. “Call the sheriff’s office.”
    Claire dialed the number and spoke to Amanda Clark, one of the deputies. Deputy Clark took the information and told her to come in Monday and file a full report, if Brawley or Leven didn’t contact her sooner. Claire hung up, feeling she’d made the right decision to tell the police about the gun.
    “ What next?” she asked Joe.
    Before he could answer, the red light for room six blinked on.
    Claire answered it. “Front Desk.”
    The man at the other end was distinctly annoyed. Was anybody going to clean his damned room today? Claire promised him prompt service and then hung up.
    “ What is it?” Joe asked.
    Claire sighed. “Oh, I sent Amelia home after we found Henson. She was too upset to work. But she hadn’t cleaned any of the rooms before she left. And now...”
    Joe suggested, “Can you show me how to work the phones?”
    She looked at him. “Oh, Joe. Thank you.”
    “ Hell, don’t thank me. All I’ll be doing is sitting here punching buttons. You’ll be the one up to the elbows in cleanser and dirty sheets.”
    After Claire showed Joe how to handle the desk, she tried calling Verna, just in case her head housekeeper might be willing to come in and help. But there was no answer, so Claire went about the business of cleaning eleven of the twelve units on her own. Henson’s bungalow remained untouched; it had been taped off limits by the sheriff and his deputies.
    She’d only begun when Joe appeared, announcing he’d turned on the answering machine. They devised a system; he’d help her for fifteen or twenty minutes, and then he’d return to the office to see if there were any calls to handle. She was pleased and grateful—and somewhat surprised to find that he could clean a bathroom with the best of them.
    Two parties, in rooms five and one, had checked out during the commotion in the afternoon. By six o’clock, those two rooms were occupied once more. By seven, all the rooms save the back bungalow were clean and in use.
    Claire wheeled the cleaning cart into the housekeeping closet and went to find Joe back at the desk. She noticed right away that his hair was wet and he was wearing a clean shirt.
    He explained, “I had some clothes in my truck, so I took a quick shower. I hope that’s okay.”
    “ Of course. You found the towels all right, I guess?”
    “ Yeah. In the cabinet under the sink.”
    “ Well, good.”
    They looked at each other. Claire tried not to think of that night when he’d showered and she’d waited with a towel, ready to help him dry off....
    To distract herself from how much she’d enjoyed helping Joe dry off, she made a big show of flopping in a chair across from the lobby couch and demanding, “What’s for dinner? I’m starved.”
    She’d thought she was teasing, but Joe didn’t seem to realize that. “I ordered two steaks and baked potatoes, along with tossed salads and a bottle of red from Farina’s. It’ll be ready in ten minutes or so, so if you’ll take over the desk, I’ll go pick it up.” Farina’s was Pine Bluff’s “nicer” restaurant. It was a step up from Mandy’s, which catered to the short-order crowd.
    Claire sat up straight. “Lord, Joe. Where have you been all my life?” She blushed as soon as she said it. Of course, he’d been around since she was ten. And he’d spent most of the time since they’d met telling her to get lost. “Never mind,” she instructed tartly. “Forget I asked.”
    “ Fair enough.” He was hiding a smile; she knew it. He came out from behind the desk and strode to