Chapter 3 - The Housekeeper Who Wouldn't Look Away
Elena found Nora James in the housekeeping office, sorting room assignments beneath a flickering fluorescent light. Nora was in her late fifties, with silver threaded through her braids and the tired, careful posture of someone who had spent decades carrying other people's burdens without complaint. She looked up when Elena entered. “I'm sorry, ma'am. If you're looking for extra towels, you'll need to call the front desk.”
“I remember you hiding in the linen room because you didn't want to go to another board dinner.” Nora glanced at the open doorway. “I also remember your father telling us we could come to him with any problem.”
Nora looked down at the assignment sheets. Several names had been crossed out in red ink. “Not after Victoria took over.”
She told Elena that housekeeping staff were routinely asked to work through meal breaks, then had their timecards edited. Employees who complained lost shifts. A maintenance worker had been fired after reporting a broken fire door. Nora herself had been written up for refusing to sign a statement that said every room had been inspected when half the floor was still waiting for repairs.
“Why didn't you report it to Mr. Davis?” Elena asked.
“I did. He said he would look into it. Then Victoria moved me off the day shift and told me my pension could disappear if I kept making trouble.”
“Don't apologize for leaving, honey. Just don't leave again when it gets ugly.”
Nora reached into a drawer and pulled out a plain envelope. Inside were copies of altered time sheets and a note from a night auditor who had been dismissed three weeks earlier.
“He said the money wasn't just being stolen from the workers,” Nora whispered. “He said somebody was taking money meant for Harbor House.”
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Harbor House was the women's shelter Elena's mother had helped establish. Every year, the Bellwether hosted a fundraiser for it. Elena stared at the papers. “How much money?”
Nora shook her head. “Enough that someone is terrified of you asking.”
