Veiled Threat by Alice Loweecey Page B

up her sweater and pants and stashed her purse in the top compartment. Good thing I remembered to bring the combination lock from my gym bag. Also that I’m not too uptight to change in an open locker room. Which reminds me, I need to locate the bathroom.
    “Regina? Oh, good, the uniform fits. And you wore sneakers. And you brought your own lock? You’re my favorite employee already.” Monica, the head of housekeeping, appeared at Giulia’s side. “We’ve got one checkout and one weeklong to clean. I’ll work the first one with you. You’ve done this kind of work before, I understand?”
    Monica walked them through another door that led into a break room with two round tables, a counter with sink and dish drainer, and a small refrigerator. Her beige uniform clung to her ample figure, unlike Giulia’s, which had room to move in. Her black-as-ink bobbed hair swung side to side with every step.
    “The rooms are in Snapdragon—that’s the hotel alongside the parking lot.”
    They walked to the end of a short hall, wallpapered in retro-Victorian floral. Bathrooms on one side, doors marked Maintenance and Electrical on the other. Monica opened a third door after those, labeled Utility .
    “There’s a covered walkway between here and every building on the property: both hotels, the pool, the rec area, the auditorium, and the stable. The guests think we built it for them.” She gave Giulia an elaborate wink. “But it’s really for us. It’s a lifesaver in bad weather. Here’s the cart you’ll be using.”
    She put a hand on one of two wheeled carts twice the size of the grocery store kind. “Towels in these drawers on the side, washcloths on top, hand towels in the middle, bath towels on the bottom.” She opened each drawer. “Only emergency replacements, of course. The laundry staff stacks them on these shelves for us to take when we ready a room for a new guest.”
    Giulia put her hands on the other side of the cart, touching each item in the top compartments so she’d remember them. “Soap, miniature shampoo, conditioner, lotion. Stationery, pens, tea lights, matches, coffee, tea, sugar packets, powdered creamer, plastic stirrers.” She met Monica’s appraising gaze. “Where are the cleaning supplies?”
    “Opposite side from the towels.”
    Giulia opened a deep drawer. “Oh good. Rubber gloves. The mild version of Lime-Away, too. Yay. I’ve used the industrial-strength version. It’s nasty.”
    “Ready? Let’s go.” Monica backed out of the room, towing the cart. Giulia closed the door after them, wheeling an upright vacuum cleaner.
    They wheeled the cart back down the hall and took a right at the bathrooms. This led them into a chilly glassed-in walkway. Snow covered the arched roof and drifted up the sides. Giulia shivered.
    “I saw that.” Monica smiled at her. “It’s mostly psychological. The temp in here is about sixty-two.”
    Two women holding hands walked toward them. They smiled and said, “Merry Christmas.” Monica responded.
    When the women were out of earshot, Giulia said, “The owner doesn’t mind if the staff talk to the guests?”
    “Where have you worked before? Prison? Barbara likes it when the guests realize that the staff are people too.” The hall opened into a standard hotel hall lined with doors. Monica opened room 133, and Giulia wheeled in the cart.
    “You take the bathroom and I’ll strip the beds. Supervisor privilege.” She lowered her voice. “There’s one unbreakable rule here. No casual sex between staff and guests at the Wildflower.”

thirteen
    Giulia kept her face neutral. “I assure you that won’t be a problem.” Don’t laugh, Falcone. Don’t even think about smiling.
    Monica patted her on the shoulder. “Good. Barbara doesn’t mind if we hang out for a bit after our shift is over or even if we share a drink with the guests. Just remember that as far as bed-hopping is concerned, the staff are as celibate as nuns.”
    Giulia went into the