The Los Palmas Mystery

 Spanish Romance

The growing WIP

The knock on the door woke the man from his sleep; with sleepy eyes and a mind not attuned to being awake he opened the door of the hotel room to the smiling face of the waiter. The waiter greeted him with a smile and said, "Your breakfast, Mr. Geisner."

The man stretched his right arm and found his jacket, after a short search he picked out a note to tip the waiter. 

"Thank you, sir, have a pleasant day."

The man turned and pushed the food cart to his desk, then poured a cup of coffee; as he sat down to drink, his mind went blank and he began to panic as he rushed to the windows to close the curtains. Turning around he opened the door to check the room number, at this point he began to shake with fear. 

After several minutes, and two cups of strong coffee; he stood up and walked to he phone to call the clerk on reception.

"Hello, this is Mr. Geisner in room 1511, if you see my Secretary Miss Lopez can you send her up please, thank you."

With a calm and reassuring tone the clerk replied, "Certainly Mr. Geisner."

No sooner had she put the phone down than Miss Conchita Lopez walked into her view; "Miss Lopez," she called out, "Can you go and see Mr. Geisner in 1511 please."

Conchita smiled, then replied, "I'm on my way." 

A few minutes later the elevator door opened onto the 15th floor, and Conchita walked across the her bosses room. She knocked twice and waited to hear the door click.

Before she could get more than a few feet in, she saw him sitting on the bed, in the dark; even though it was daylight outside, and the sun was rising.

She asked, "How can I help you, sir?"

He had so many questions to ask, but he had no idea how to begin, so he said "I think you'd better sit down, and I'll pour us a cup of coffee; I have a lot to ask you."

Conchita sat on the chair near the window, and waited to hear the first question.

"Miss Lopez."

"Please, call me Concha."

"Okay. Concha; I have several problems arising from memory loss and I was hoping you could answer a few questions for me."

Concha took a sip of coffee, then replied, "I'll try. I suppose as your secretary I know you as well as anyone does."

Geisner smiled and thanked her, then he began, "Is there anything strange about our booking this year?"

Conchita didn't take long to answer, "Sir, the only thing that isn't odd is that we have come to the same hotel for the last ten years; other than that the break is anything but normal."

"Can you be more descriptive, please?"

"From the time you asked me to book these weeks, I have been trying to think of a reason for the change. Usually, you choose the last weeks of May to avoid the rush and the heat, but this year you changed to mid-July. Up to now, I have no idea why you changed the time; I have a couple of ideas, but only you know the reasons."

"As I said, I am at a loss myself to find a reason for the change. What else is peculiar?"

"Well, you booked a room on the 15th floor next to the elevator, when you usually book a room on the 1st or 2nd floor away from the elevator. This room has floor to ceiling windows, and you are scared of heights, which explains the closed curtains. Another thing, usually you book B&B as you prefer to walk around the town and sample the local taste, this year you asked me to book full-board. I thought you might have been working harder than normal on your next book, and didn't wish to lose the flow, or perhaps your leg injury was going to make walking too painful for a walk; only you can answer that question, sir."